


Pokemon World

by Kousagi7Hikari



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Based on my pokemon games, Because it's fun, Gen, Original Character(s), Self-Insert, domestic pokemon, so I can have legends and stuff, this puppy is dripping with self-indulgence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 06:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12382581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kousagi7Hikari/pseuds/Kousagi7Hikari
Summary: The story of two girls living in a pokemon world.





	1. Welcome to the World of Pokemon!

**Author's Note:**

> A super-indulgent self-insert with my friend if we lived in the pokemon world (BECAUSE IT'S FUN.) I've been a pokemon fan my whole life, she has not, so it's also about learning and sharing things you love with people you love. And who wouldn't want a pet vulpix?

To say Tashi was nervous would be an understatement. It was the first time she would be living away from home. She would be living with her best friend who had already set up the homestead and been living there for several months, but that didn’t stop her from fisting her skirt every so often. She was riding in the cabin next to the driver of the moving truck and hadn’t said much due to nerves and looking out the window. It was actually quite lovely. Tashi’s bestie, Hayley, had decided to move to the Kalos region for the beautiful scenery and architecture. She had journeyed there with her pokemon before and decided it was time to settle there and that she wanted Tashi to give it a try too. She had even set up some kind of pokemon ranch! Tashi had never lived with pokemon before, her parents said they would be too expensive to take care of, so Tashi didn’t know as much about pokemon as Hayley, but she was more than open to the idea of learning.  
“Here we are!” The driver said, snapping Tashi out of her thoughts. “You go ahead, the boys and I will take care of the rest.”  
Tashi was confused for a moment. There wasn’t anyone else with them… but then she spotted the three pokeball’s on the man’s belt and recalled the pokemon on the side of the truck. Machop, was it called? “Thank you.” Tashi smiled and hopped out of the truck in front of her new home.  
It was a two story house and it was a pretty yellow color with white trim and dark brown roof. Hayley was a pokemon trainer by trade and managed to make quite a bit of money from it, so she was able to buy a house, which she wanted to share with-  
“SWEETIE~!!!!” Suddenly, Tashi was enveloped in a huge bear hug, lifting her off the ground for a moment.  
Tashi promptly grinned and hugged back. “Hi Boo~!” She cooed in return.  
“How was the ride?” Hayley asked, letting her go and walking with her into the house.  
“Quiet, but good!” Tashi nodded. “The scenery is beautiful, like you said!”  
“That’s why I chose this region!” Hayley beamed, propping the door open for the movers. “Plus, this region has fairy type pokemon.”  
Tashi’s eyes sparkled “Fairy type~?” She whispered in excitement.  
“Yup! OH! Hey! Want a quick tour of the house?”  
“Of course!” Tashi was already feeling better.  
“Alrighty! Well, this is the little entry hall, leading right to the stairs to the upstairs, but we’ll get to that later. Then we turn right and it’s the living room!” It was a good sized living room with a TV in the corner next to the window and a couple couches and tables with lamps, very traditional.  
“Then we turn to the left and it’s the kitchen!” There was a little half-wall separating the living room and kitchen. The kitchen was bright with a window and a door leading out to the back behind a table and chairs, there was an island in the kitchen area with a bowl full of strange-looking fruit.  
“And if we go further, down there is the linen closet… thing? And the basement but there’s nothing down there right now, just storage. And there’s a half-bath at the end of the hall.” Hayley went on. “And now we go upstairs!”  
She happily hustled to the stairs, pausing to let the Machokes come down the stairs before moving on. “Okay, this is my room!” She opened the door to the room that faced the front. It was very cute but pretty and not overly-girly, but filled with pokedolls and all sorts of cute things. On the bed were two sleeping pokemon. Tashi knew they were both Vulpix, though one was orange and the other was yellow. Hayley had told her that sometimes there were pokemon that were different colors than usual and they were called shiny pokemon. Tashi was sort of interested in that.  
“Then the bathroom is right across the hall…” Tashi glimpsed inside. It was decorated in a sort of nautical theme with seafaring pokemon pictures and decorations.  
“And this is your room!” Hayley could hardly contain her glee. It was pretty much empty for the moment, thought there was a machoke putting the bed together and one putting the dresser back together. The walls were painted a nice pink color already as Hayley had asked in advance. “We can change the placement of the furniture a bit later if you want.” She whispered to Tashi.  
“It looks good for now~” Tashi smiled. She loved the window too. It was a huge window that looked out into the backyard and the forest beyond that.  
“And finally…” Hayley led her to the end of the hall. “Next to the linen closet thing, is the pokemon room!” She opened the door to a room filled what looked like a little pokemon pet playground. There were a couple of beds and scratching posts, a hammock and a mini house. “I let Vulpix and Amber sleep in here.” Hayley explained. “And hopefully, your pokemon too.”  
“Boo, I don’t have any pokemon…” Tashi reminded her, but she saw the look on her friend’s face. “Boo… you didn’t…” She gasped.  
Hayley grinned and ran to her bedroom, coming back with a small box. “Happy home… coming!” She grinned, handing it to her. It was a little box with a lid and a ribbon keeping it closed.  
Tashi pulled on the ribbon and gave it to Hayley and pulled the lid off. Inside were two small-sized pokeballs. “Oh my gosh…” She whispered.  
“There are pokemon in there~” Hayley nudged her. “Take ‘em out~”  
Tashi did so, holding one in each hand. She tapped the buttons in the middle, making them expand to the size of oranges. “How do I make them come out?” She asked, since she didn’t know what was inside.  
“Kinda like cracking an egg with one hand, but with a hinge?” Hayley tried to explain.  
Tashi nodded in understanding and opened the pokeballs. Two flashes of light came from them and landed on the floor before her, they formed shapes before the white light vanished in an explosion of sparkles and became pokemon. One appeared to be a dark-colored baby bird wearing a shell as a diaper. The other was a tiny blue elephant with orange padding on it’s knees and ears. There was a moment of quiet where Hayley was the one worried… before Tashi squealed. “THEY’RE SO CUTE~!!!”  
Hayley grinned and the two pokemon cheered in their own ways and rushed to their new owner. The elephant stopped short, but happily nuzzled Tashi’s hand as she knelt down to pet it.  
“They’re Vullaby and Phanpy!” Hayley told her, sitting beside her. “I had to do a little house training with them, especially phanpy cos it’s strong enough do plow a house down. You can name them if you want!”  
Tashi thought a moment. “Um…”  
“If you can’t think of anything, that’s okay! We can go to the Name Rater if you think of any~ Ugh! I can’t wait to share this world with you~” She gave her friend a hug. “I’m gonna go tip the movers and then get working on dinner. Its just eggs, is that okay?”  
Tashi nodded, cuddling her new pokemon.  
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. The two girls ate dinner together, Hayley introduced her to her vulpixes and she helped her unpack a bit, then they hung out and watched TV for a while. Tashi went to bed fairly early for her, but she was tired from the move. As she settled in, making sure she had enough blankets, Vullaby and Phanpy hopped onto bed with her. She smiled to herself and gave them each a pet. She felt she could get used to living in a Pokémon world.


	2. My Pokemon Ranch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley shows Tashi her comfort pokemon ranch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A trainer's gotta do SOMETHING between gens. This chapter (and many others) was written before the reveal of Sun and Moon

Tashi was awoken the following morning by a weight laid across her middle. She opened her eyes slowly and stretched. “Good morning Boo.” She said sleepily.  
Hayley smiled. “Morning~” She replied, standing up. “Sorry to wake you up so early, but I wanted to see if you were up for seeing the ranch.”  
Tashi perked up a bit. “Sure! I’d love to!”  
“Alright! We’ll be off at 8, the ranch opens at 9, but I wanna give you the tour.” Hayley said. “I have a spare bike you can ride and it’s not too far~”  
“Sounds good.” Tashi nodded, stretching. She looked around her room for a moment. “Where are my Pokémon?”  
“I think they’re downstairs for breakfast. It’ll just be cereal for us, but the Pokémon need their own special food. I’mma take my shower, but I’ll meet you down there.”  
“’Kay.” Tashi nodded as Hayley left the room.  
Once she was dressed and her hair was done up, Tashi headed downstairs. Sure enough Vullaby and Phanpy were down there, sitting by a couple of bowls by the back door with Vulpix and Amber. Once they saw Tashi, the two made happy sounds and bounced over to her for hugs and cuddles, which she happily gave them. “You are so CUTE!” She cooed, smooching the tops of their heads. “How about we get you some breakfast?”  
The Pokémon made affirmative sounds, eager to get some food in them. Vulpix padded over to a cabinet. “Vul!” She barked to get Tashi’s attention.   
“What is it?” She asked, crouching down. She opened the cabinet that the fire fox was sitting by to see several boxes labeled “Poke’Mix”  
“Is this your food?” She asked, looking at the label. She noticed that under the label was a little symbol. It looked something like a flame.  
She grabbed another box and saw it had a different symbol. This one had a feather.  
“Ohh…” Tashi whispered. “Different types of Pokémon need different types of food.”  
She took the fire type and flying type food and poured them into the right bowls, but paused at Phanpy. “…What type are you?”  
Phanpy trumpeted happily, not fully understanding the question.  
“Phanpy’s a ground type!” Tashi turned to see Hayley entering the kitchen. “It’s the one with what looks like a mud puddle on it.”  
“Okay!” Tashi put away the other boxes and grabbed the one for phanpy, filling up the bowl and watching the little elephant eat with his trunk.  
“As for human cereal, we have Poke’puffs, Pecha flavored frosted wheats, Cleffa Charms aaaannnddd… That’s it… I’ve gotta go grocery shopping.” She murmured, grabbing the Cleffa Charms.  
“I’ll have the Cleffa Charms.” Tashi said. “And I’ll help you shop.”  
“Good idea.” Hayley agreed, getting out the bowls and spoons. “Then we can have Tashi food!”  
Tashi grinned. Her friend was so cute!   
Hayley passed her the utensils and cereal as she got out the milk and her vitamins. “I was thinking, we finish up here and then we go to the ranch! I can show you around and stuff, and then we’ll go grocery shopping.”  
Tashi nodded in agreement, mouth full of cereal.  
After breakfast was done, the girls cleaned up and brushed their teeth. “Wanna take your Pokémon?” Hayley asked. “Or we can leave them here to guard the house!”  
Tashi thought a moment. “Do either of you want to come with?” She asked her Pokémon. The vullaby shivered and shook it’s head, puffing up a little, happy to stay home, but phanpy trumpeted and trotted over.  
“I’ve got baskets on the front of the bikes, so he can ride in the front.” Hayley smiled. “C’mon!”  
Tashi and Phanpy happily followed her outside to where she had two bikes locked up to a bike rack next to the house. “Red or blue?” she asked.  
“Red please!” Tashi decided. Phanpy trumpeted in agreement.  
Hayley unlocked the red bike and pushed it to Tashi, who helped her little Pokémon into the basket up front. The girls clipped on their helmets and headed off down the road.  
They passed plenty of nice looking people; Artists painting, ladies coming home with groceries, a few gardeners and a lot of children just playing.  
The girls rode next to each other, talking about different things. Tashi had come up with names for Phanpy and Vullaby, so they’d have to swing by the name rater later. Hayley told her about the amazing cities and towns around the region.  
Soon, they arrived at the ranch. It was a nice two-story building in earthy colors. The sign was in lovely colors, calling it the “Comfort Ranch.”  
“Here we are!” Hayley announced. “C’mon, we’ll park out bikes on the side.”  
They did so and Hayley unlocked the front door, entering into the lobby. It was a sizeable room with a waiting area with a TV, a couple sofas and a bookshelf over to the right and a front desk to the left. Behind the counter was a tall and slender humanoid Pokémon. It appeared to be wearing a white dress with a green hairstyle.   
It looked over to the two with a kind smile. “Garde~” It said in a musical voice.  
“Tashi, this is Gardevior!” Hayley said, motioning to the Pokémon. “She’s the receptionist here. Gardevior, this is my bestie, Tashi!”   
Gardevior moved from behind the counter and curtsied. Tashi heard a voice in her mind speak. “It’s very nice to meet you.”  
“Gardevior is a psychic type.” Hayley explained. “She talks using telepathy.”  
“Wow…” Tashi whispered. “It’s nice to meet you too!”  
“I have to finish up a few things, but I hope you enjoy the ranch!” Gardevior nodded politely and moved behind the counter again, sorting papers.  
“C’mon upstairs!” Hayley said, gently tugging on Tashi’s shirt, leading her towards the stairs. “We have an elevator too, but hey, exersize.”  
Tashi nodded in agreement, following her friend up the stairs, her little phanpy on her heels.  
It appeared that the building had three floors, but the stairs only went up to the second story. It led out into a short hallway with two rooms on either side. “That one’s the art room.” Hayley said, pointing to the dark room on the right. “We have art classes and stuff there on Tuesdays and Thursdays taught by my two smeargles, or rather, supervised by. But since it’s Friday…” She opened the door to a brightly lit room.  
It looked something like a dojo. At the front of the room was a black and blue Pokémon that resembled a jackal with dreadlocks. It was sitting on the floor, with closed eyes. The dreadlocks were floating out to the side of it’s head. Once the two girls were close enough, it opened it’s eyes.  
“Hey Lucario, this is Tashi” Hayley said. “Tashi, this is Lucario. He teaches the self-defense classes.”  
Tashi waved a bit nervously. Lucario was about as tall as she was and looked kind of intimidating. However, the beast bowed politely. “It’s nice to meet you.” Said a voice in her head. However, the voice in question was kind of feminine.  
“Oh, and this is Espeon!” Hayley added, scooping up a purple cat-like Pokémon that had entered the room. “She’s psychic type, so she translates Lucario for the students. Lucario is steel and fighting type.”  
“I see!” Tashi nodded, giving Espeon a pet. “Hello Espeon!” Espeon licked her fingers.  
“Have you two seen Gallade?” Hayley asked.  
“I think he was in the backyard doing some gardening.” Espeon offered.  
“Okay. Thank you~ Have a good class!” Hayley smiled, putting Espeon down.  
“Where to next?” Tashi asked as they headed downstairs.  
“The crown jewel of the place! The garden~” Hayley grinned. “Unless you WANTED me to show you the boring upstairs living quarters for some of the Pokémon.”  
Tashi chuckled. “Maybe some other time.”  
“Alrighty!” Hayley led her to a door that had been on the far side of the lobby. “Here it is!”  
The garden was indeed a sight to behold. It was a MASSIVE open area OVERFLOWING with all kind of Pokémon! Off to the right near the house was a small building with another sign that read “Rest House” With a moon and some stars and pink clouds. It was very cute~  
Farther out was a big pond with a large tree in the middle, casting a nice shadow for plenty of shade for the Pokémon splashing in the water.  
The entire area was fenced in with a white picket fence, but the fence was lined with all kinds of berry trees. There were all sorts of bushes and flowers, many of which were actually Pokémon producing very nice smells.  
“Over there is the rest house for people with sleeping problems to relax and sleep. We’ve got lots of Pokémon to help with that, so I’ll have to open that… but before I do, what do you think?”  
Tashi was still gazing around in wonder at all the cute Pokémon. “I love it Boo~”  
Hayley grinned, thrilled to share this with her best friend.


	3. Tashi's First Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After giving her new pokemon nick-names, Tashi stumbles into a battle!

“Buzzy and Snuffles, hmm? Fine names! Fine indeed!” The Name Rater nodded, stroking his beard. “From this moment on, your Vullaby shall be named Buzzy and your Phanpy will be named Snuffles!”  
Tashi smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you very much!”  
Buzzy chirped and Snuffles trumpeted in gratitude as well.  
“It was no trouble my dear, no trouble at all!” The man smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Should you change your mind, you know where to find me!”  
Tashi waved goodbye as the three left the name rater’s home. “Now… Boo said she was going to the grocery store…” She murmured, looking around for said store.   
She didn’t see it, but she did see a sign with “Map of Camphier Town.” The three headed right over to give it a look. Hayley had told her the name of the store… but she knew it wasn’t “Poke’mart” as she had stopped there before to pick up some ultra balls. Hayley had bought enough that she earned a free premier ball with her purchase, which she gave to Tashi! Luckily, the town wasn’t that big, and the castle made a good landmark, so Tashi figured the square with the grocery bag was the grocery store (obviously) and it was nearby the old castle! “Let’s go!” She said to her little friends, and began to walk in the appropriate direction.  
She hadn’t even made it a block when she accidentally bumped into someone. “Oops! Sorry!” she apologized quickly.  
The person she ran into, however, was not so forgiving. “Hey!” He barked, “Watch where you’re going!”  
Tashi was a bit taken aback. How rude! “I said I was sorry.” She said sternly.  
“Well, sorry ain’t good enough!” the young man grumbled, pulling a pokeball from his belt loop.  
Tashi’s eyes went wide. “H-hold on a second!” She put her hands up. “I’m not a trainer!”  
“Those are your Pokémon, right?” He demanded, jerking his head at Buzzy and Snuffles. “Then you’re a trainer! Send one out! You can’t back down from a Pokémon battle!”   
Tashi felt a little sick. She didn’t want her new friends to be hurt! But a crowd of people had gathered, and she couldn’t even physically back away. She gulped and tried to put on a brave face. “Alright…” She murmured. “Buzzy?” The Vullaby looked up at her, shivering and puffed up. “Um… let’s go?”  
Buzzy chirped and waddled out onto the battlefield. Tashi was nervous. She had no idea how to battle! Hayley had told her that Pokémon could know four moves at a time, but she didn’t know any of Buzzy’s attacks!  
“Let’s go, Tyrogue!” the trainer threw his pokeball out, releasing a strange, pinkish humanoid creature with bandages around his wrists and shorts.   
Tashi took a breath. “O-okay Buzzy… um… attack!” She pointed.  
Buzzy looked at her in confusion, to which Tashi only shrugged and mouthed “sorry” but the bird waved a wing as if to say “it’s okay” and charged at the Tyrogue.  
“Tyrogue! Use tackle!” The trainer commanded.  
The Tyrogue charged at Buzzy, slamming into the bird.  
Tashi winced as her bird tumbled back a bit from the impact, but breathed a sigh of relief when she stood back up without a problem.  
“Hmph.” The trainer grunted. “It’s stronger than it looks…” He murmured. “Tyrogue! Tackle again!”  
The Pokémon charged again, but Buzzy knew it was coming. “Look out!” Tashi squeaked.  
Buzzy flapped out of the way, flying a few feet before plopping back to the ground. Once she got back on her feet, she flapped one wing at a time, slicing the air. The attack hit the Tyrogue hard, causing him to go flying a bit. It seemed to have a tough time getting up.  
“Ooh, a flying type move against a fighting type?” Tashi heard someone in the crowd murmur. “Nice!”  
“It’s hard to tell who has the advantage.” Someone else said. “Since Vullaby is part dark, which is weak to fighting it could even out…”  
“Tyrogue! Use fake out!” Tashi snapped back to attention just in time to see the Tyrogue leap up to her bird baby and clap in her face, making her flinch.   
“Buzzy!” Tashi gasped. “It’s okay! Use that attack again!”  
But Buzzy was too shaken from the attack to fight back! “Alright Tyrogue, finish them off, tackle!”  
Tyrogue charged at the poor bird as Tashi watched, her mind scrambling for something to do!  
“Princess! Use bubblebeam!”  
Suddenly, Tyrogue was blown off-course by a stream of bubbles, crashing the Pokémon into a flower cart, knocking it out.  
“HEY!” the trainer yelled, turning to see who had interrupted his fight. “We’re in the middle of a fight here!”  
Tashi turned to see a beautiful Pokémon who looked like a swan fluttering its wings, clearing the crowd. Following behind was her trainer.  
“BOO!”  
Hayley smiled at Tashi, then turned to glare at the trainer. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.  
“Battling! What do you think? She bumped into me and-“  
“SERIOUSLY? ARE YOU TWO YEARS OLD?” She snapped, clearly irritated. “Did she TELL you she’s not a trainer?”  
The trainer flinched. “Y-yeah… but-“  
“Only trainers engage in trainer battles you putrid pile of Muk drippings!” She snapped. “Breeders and contestants battle sure, but only if consent is given. AND YOU DON’T BATTLE WILLY-NILLY IN A CIVILIAN AREA! NOW GET GONE OR I’LL TAKE CARE OF YOU MYSELF!!!”  
The trainer took a step away, returned his Pokémon, and took off.  
Hayley sighed and headed over to Tashi. “Sorry about that. I know you don’t like fighting and I got annoyed. And they didn’t have the Jelly-puffs I wanted to try, so I was cranky.”  
Tashi sighed and smiled. “Thanks Boo. I was really scared.”  
“It’s okay~” She nodded for her to follow.  
Princess knelt down to offer Buzzy a ride on her back. “I think we’ll have to check your Pokémon’s moves, just in case of an emergency, like a wild Pokémon attack.” Hayley went on.   
“Good idea.” Tashi nodded, looking around. “Where are the groceries…?”  
“I sent Blaze home with them. I saw the commotion and lept. Did you get your Pokémon’s names rated?”  
“Yup!” Tashi smiled and picked up Phanpy who had been trotting beside her. “Meet Snuffles and Buzzy!” She pointed to the bird chirping happily as she rode atop the Swanna.  
“That’s Princess. She’s a Swanna!” Hayley said. “I’ll have to introduce you to the rest of my battle team.”  
Tashi nodded. That sounded nice! “I got a couple crates of moo-moo milk. Good for humans, and Pokémon! And lots of lemonade and more cereal…” Hayley talked a bit about the groceries she had gotten, confirming she had gotten everything but the Jelly-puffs as they walked home.


	4. Lumiose City Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shopping trip turns into a pokemon battle, as you do in this universe

Tashi was startled awake one morning by a wail of despair. She blinked and sat up, glancing at the clock. It was time to wake up anyway, so she stood up and shuffled out the door to find the source of the sound. “Boo?” She called.  
“Noooooo…” She heard her friend wail again, much quieter this time.  
It was sounded like she was in the bathroom, so she knocked on the door, which swung open a bit. Hayley opened the door a bit more, her face washed with some combination of frustration and despair.  
She was about 3/4ths dressed and was holding a pair of jeans in her hands in such a way that Tashi could see the hole worn in the crotch. “These were my favorite pants…” Hayley whimpered.  
“I’m sorry Boo…” Tashi said, patting her friend’s head.  
Hayley sighed. “It’s okay… I’m sorry I woke you up. Guess I’m going pants shopping today.” She blew her bangs up a bit in frustration. “Do you wanna come with…?” She asked, brightening slightly.  
Tashi lit up. “Sure!”  
“We’ll go to Lumiose City! We’ll have to fly, so I’ll loan you a Pokémon~” Hayley’s mood was visibly lifting as she spoke. “I’ll get my other pants for now, you get ready and we can go!”  
Tashi nodded and hurried to get dressed. She met Hayley downstairs a bit after. “Wanna get breakfast?” Hayley asked.  
“Sure!”  
“Lumiose has a BILLION café’s and restaurants and stuff, so we’ll find a good one and have a nibble~” Hayley was tapping at a computer she had set up in the corner of the kitchen. “Here we go…” She murmured. “Aha!”  
A tube next to the computer began to glow brightly for a moment. Once the light faded, inside the tube was a pokeball!  
“I talked to the PC guy here and he helped me install a PC in-home!” She explained, offering the ball to Tashi. “Here! You can borrow this one! Princess isn’t big enough to carry both of us.”  
Tashi nodded in understanding and took the pokeball. “It’s a Mandibuzz.” Hayley went on. “It’s what Buzzy will evolve into if you want her to!”  
“Really~?” Tashi’s eyes twinkled.  
“Yup!” Hayley beamed. “Let’s let her out outside. I need to teach her Fly anyway.”  
The two exited, leaving their buddies home for this errand and Tashi tossed the ball in the air. It popped open and in a flash, a huge vulture-like Pokémon with a little bone bow in her hair was crouched in front of them. “Mandi-man!” It cawed.  
Tashi gasped in delight. “Mandibuzz! We’re gonna need your help to get to Lumiose City, okay?” Hayley asked, holding some sort of disk.  
“Mandi!” the bird nodded in understanding.  
“Atta girl~” Hayley smiled, holding the disk to the Pokémon’s head.  
The disk glowed for a moment. As the glow faded, Hayley pulled out what Tashi recognized as a pokedex. She pressed a few buttons and pulled the disk away. “And now Mandibuzz knows Fly!”  
“It’s that easy?” Tashi asked, moving to pet the bird.  
“Usually!” Hayley smiled, releasing Princess from her pokeball. “TMs and HMs are pretty useful. Like, Blaze can’t learn Shadow Claw naturally, so I use a TM and now he can defend himself against Psychic types which he’s usually weak to!”  
Tashi nodded, following what she was saying mostly.  
“Alright. Boo is hungry, so let’s go get food!” Hayley declared, climbing on Princesses’ back.  
Tashi carefully climbed aboard Mandibuzz, who was very patient about it. She could hardly believe there was a creature this large that she could ride on!  
“Alright ladies! Fly! To Lumiose City!” Hayley instructed.  
With that, the two birds took off into the sky.  
Tashi clung to Mandibuzz tightly, her eyes pinched shut. She wasn’t fond of the “going up” feeling. However, once they evened out, she opened her eyes and looked around. “Oh… wow…” She whispered in awe.  
The Kalos region stretched out in all directions ahead and beneath her. Over there was a little town, there was a grand castle, over there was a huge mountain! And ahead was-  
“There’s Lumiose City!” Hayley said, pointing.  
Tashi’s jaw dropped. The city was MASSIVE! It was a giant circle of tall buildings, in the center of which was a giant tower. It had a million streets stretching out from the center circle like veins. “We’re gonna land at the southern poke’center!” Hayley called over the wind. “The city is so big there’s THREE!”  
“Got it!” Tashi nodded, clinging to Mandibuzz’s feathers, anticipating her stomach moving up her chest.  
After a few more minutes, the birds began their decent, doing so gently as to avoid accident and nausea. Tashi was very grateful. As they landed, they returned the Pokémon to their balls, Tashi adding in a “Thank you!”  
“So, where shall we eat?” Hayley asked, glancing at her watch. “Hm… They Galette stand is probably all sold out…There’s a juice shoppe, but that’s not too filling… How about Café’ Soleil? Sometimes the Pokémon League champion eats there!”  
“Ooh, that sounds cool!” Tashi nodded, eagerly. “Let’s go!”  
“Alright! It’s just a short walk this way!” Hayley pointed to her right and began to walk.  
Tashi looked around in awe, staring up at the buildings. “And this is only the outer ring of the city!” Hayley said. “You could get lost in here! Luckily, there are maps EVERYWHERE.”  
“That’s good.” Tashi nodded, watching as a white dog-like Pokémon bounded down the street.  
They entered the café at the end of the street. It smelled of coffee and cakes and nice things. They were greeted by a “Welcome!” from behind the counter as they moved to look at the menu. “Looks like she’s not here today.” Hayley murmured, looking around. “Oh well. After this, shall we go get pants and things? Then we can wander around the city for a while!”  
“Sounds good to me!” Tashi agreed.  
The two ordered, egg and ham breakfast sandwich and a French vanilla latte for Hayley, almond and poppy seed muffin and tea for Tashi, and sat down with their nibbles.  
After a few bites, Tashi looked from Hayley’s sandwich to her friend. “…Um… that isn’t made from Pokémon, is it?”  
“Nah.” Hayley waved her hand. “They import the meat and eggs and stuff from other regions with regular animals and all that jazz. …Though there are some people who eat slowpoke tails, but those people are in PRISON.”  
Tashi nodded solemnly, nibbling her muffin. Justice was served. Good.  
The two continued to eat and chat for a bit. Once they finished, they took care of their things and headed out to shop. Tashi thought a moment about how much money she had. “Think I should get a job?” She asked as they walked.  
“Up to you, Sweetie.” Hayley said simply. “I could hire you on at the ranch if you want?”  
Tashi shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t think I know quite enough about Pokémon to work with them yet.”  
“Well, we’ll come up with something!” Hayley smiled, ever optimistic.  
They continued to walk for a bit until they came to a fancy-looking store with a shingle with a shirt picture hanging over it. “Here we are! Boutique Couture~”  
Tashi’s eyes went wide. It looked super fancy! They walked in and she gazed around as Hayley talked to the sales associate at the door. “Alright, I just wanna get pants, but feel free to look around! It’s on me!” She grinned.  
“Oh, Boo, no, I can’t do that to you, this stuff must cost a fortune!” Tashi said, eyebrows furrowed.  
Her friend shrugged “Pokémon battling is a pretty lucrative past time if you know who to challenge.”  
“Okay… but I’m going to pay you back somehow!” The smaller insisted.  
“If you say so!” Hayley chuckled, turning to look for pants.  
Tashi had a BALL by herself~ There were so many pretty things to wear! Dresses and hats and skirts and brooches and things, but what caught her eye was an adorable pink sundress with a darker pink bow tied around the middle. She gasped silently in delight and made to grab it, but another woman snagged it first. ”Oh.” Tashi said, stopping short.  
The woman turned to look at her. “Oh, did you want this?” She asked.  
“Kind of, yeah.” Tashi nodded.  
The woman looked her up and down, then smirked slightly. “I’ll battle you for it.”  
Tashi held back a groan. “I don’t have my Pokémon with me…”  
“I’ll battle for her.” The two turned to see Hayley descending the stairs. “She’s my friend. I’ll battle in her stead.”  
The woman thought a moment. “Alright!” She handed the dress to a salesperson. “Let’s go outside.”  
The two marched outside, Tashi and a few salespeople following behind. The two women stood a few yards apart the saleswoman from the entrance standing in the middle and off to the side. “Basic rules! Whoever wins gets the dress! Ready? Begin!”  
Tashi’s eyes sparkled. She was about to see Boo battle for the first time!  
“Let’s go, Flabebe’!” The woman cheered, throwing out her pokeball.  
The Pokémon that appeared was a cute little elf-like Pokémon holding onto a white flower that was bigger than the sprite.  
“Alright Blaze, do yo’ thang!” Hayley grinned, throwing out her pokeball, releasing her Blaziken, which looked like a huge bird that specialized in kickboxing.  
“Flabebe’ use fairy wind!” The woman shouted, looking eager to go.  
The little fairy took it’s flower and waved it at Blaze like a fan. To Tashi’s surprise, Blaze just stood there and took it. It didn’t look like it did much of anything.  
“Blaze kick!” Hayley instructed cooly.  
Blaze nodded and charged at the Flabebe’ with it’s foot lighting ablaze as he ran. He spun on one leg, and kicked the little fairy, knocking it out.  
“Ah!” The woman gasped in surprise and recalled her Pokémon. “You’re pretty good.” She noted.  
“Thank you!” Hayley smiled and mime-curtsied.  
“Let’s see if you can stand up to this though!” With that, the woman chose her next Pokémon. “Let’s go, Roserade!”  
Out of the pokeball appeared a beautiful Pokémon who looked like a bouquet of roses.  
“Blaze would be good to fight, but that’s no fun. Come on back Blaze!” Hayley returned her Pokémon. “C’mon out Gardevior!”  
This Gardevior was a different one than the one at the ranch, and she was ready to fight with grace and dignity. “Garde~” She curtsied.  
“Roserade, use giga drain!” The woman commanded!  
“Gardevior, look out!” Hayley shouted.  
Her Pokémon attempted to dodge, but was hit by the green bubbles that drained her slightly. “You okay?”  
“Gard…” She nodded.  
“Okay, use hypnosis!”  
The graceful Pokémon nodded and her eyes began to glow. Suddenly, the Roserade fell asleep, flopping down on the ground.  
“Quick! Dream eater!” Hayley urged.  
Gardevoir’s eyes glowed again. This time, Roserade shivered as purple bubbles of energy flew towards Gardevoir, restoring her energy.  
The battle continued for a while longer. Gardevoir defeated Roserade shortly after it woke back up, the woman sent out a Wigglytuff and Hayley sent out her Serviper and wiped her out.  
“UGH! You’re too strong!” The woman pouted. “But you win. Good job.”  
“You fought really well!” Hayley pointed out, being a fair winner. “Thank you!”  
“Um, excuse me…?” The group turned to see a rather meek looking salesgirl. “We have more of those dresses in the back…”  
All three groaned in frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... do not like writing pokemon battles...


	5. Beach Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The obligitory anime beach episo-CHAPTER. And Tashi gets a new friend and learns about Hayley's oldest one.

“Beach day, beach day~” Hayley sang happily, practically skipping towards the sand from Cyllage City.  
The girls had decided that the beautiful weather warranted a day at the beach! Hayley picked out one she thought was best and the two-along with some of their Pokémon-packed up and flew to the beach! Or the city next to the beach anyway.  
Both girls were in swimsuits, Hayley in a pink and black polkadot two-piece that looked like shorts and a tank top while Tashi wore a simple, black, sport one-piece.  
The two humans were carrying things under their arms, including towels, a bag of sand toys (because why not,) an umbrella and a bag of other various beach things. Their four Pokémon were joyfully trotting beside them, One of Hayley’s Vulpixes carrying a sand bucket in her mouth.  
“This looks good.” Hayley decided, looking around at the open beach.  
They had gotten there early so they could get a good spot. The beach did seem to be filling up. Hayley and Tashi both laid out the blanket and set up the umbrella, Shiny helping with her Extrasensory. “There we go! Alright everyone, go have fun!” Hayley cheered.  
The little Pokémon cheered right back, taking off for the water. They could play in the waves a bit and not get hurt, though Shiny went to work making a sand castle.  
“It’s so pretty!” Tashi said in glee, gazing out at the ocean.   
She was from a desert area so seeing so much water was a BIG DEAL. “Mm-hmm~” Hayley nodded in agreement. “Usually I don’t stop by here to hang, I just battle and stuff. OOH! If we’re lucky, we’ll see some Staryu!”  
“Staryu?” Tashi asked, trying to recall the image. She knew she’d seen them before…  
“Oh, it’s like a starfish with a jewel in the middle?”  
“OH!!! Yeah! That would be awesome!” Tashi grinned.   
“They usually come up to the shore at nighttime, but they can be caught during the day, so it’s not impossible!” Hayley smiled, sitting on the blanket and burying her feet in the sand. “Mind passing me the sunblock?”  
“Oh, sure!” The two sunblocked up before standing and making a beeline for the water.  
Tashi sharply inhaled through her teeth. “It’s kind of cold!”  
“Yeah… But we’ll get used to it!” Hayley said, mostly assuring herself.  
The two went out to about chest level, taking their sweet time to get adjusted to the water. After a while, they were comfortable enough that they could relax. “Frisbee?” Hayley asked suddenly, holding one up that Tashi hadn’t even noticed she had brought out. “It’s a water one!”  
“Sure!” Tashi smiled, bouncing a little ways away so they could play.  
The two were happily playing the game (rather badly) when they heard a child scream and begin to cry. They both looked over to find a little girl being held by her father, kicking and crying, trying to go out to sea. “Clefairy!!!” She sobbed. “Come back!!”  
The two girls looked out to sea to see a little pink Pokémon in a pink inner tube floating out farther out than was safe. “What happened?” Hayley asked, paddling over to the girl and her father.   
“Her Clefairy got caught in a riptide and was pulled out to sea! I’m not that great of a swimmer or I’d go get her!” The father explained, trying to calm his little girl.  
“We’ll help!” Hayley offered, digging in her pockets in her swimsuit. “I brought this guy in case of an emergency…” She pulled out a pokeball and expanded it.  
Tashi raised an eyebrow. Apparently pokeballs were waterproof?  
“Blastoise! C’mon out!” Hayley beamed, tossing the ball into the air, releasing a huge blue tortoise with what seemed to be two cannons coming out of it’s shell.  
Hayley climbed on top of the huge Pokémon’s shell. “This big guy was my first Pokémon~” She smiled fondly. “We’ll go get your Clefairy!”  
“Be careful!” Tashi wished her. Tashi knew how to stay afloat, but not so much how to swim.  
“Thanks Sweetie~ We will! Alright Blastoise, to the Clefairy!”  
“Blast!” The Pokémon nodded, making sure Hayley was holding on tight before shooting out to sea.  
Hayley and her Blastoise were closing in on the Clefairy quickly, slowing down a few feet from it. “Clefairy!” Hayley called, “We’re here to rescue you!”  
But the Clefairy kept crying. Hayley looked around to assess the situation. Then she saw it. A single fin sticking out of the water, and attached to that was a Sharpedo. “Yep, that would be a problem…” Hayley squeaked. “Blastoise! Interception!”  
“Blas!” The tortoise Pokémon rocketed towards the fin, running into the shark Pokémon.  
“Ice beam!” Hayley instructed, clinging to the edge of Blastoise’s shell.  
Blastoise nodded and took aim as the Sharpedo jumped out of the water to attack. Blastoise fired off the icy attack right into the mouth of the beast. It fell back into the water, it’s eyes widening, then squinting in pain. “Hah! Brain freeze!” Hayley laughed.  
The Clefairy giggled and clapped as the shark swam away in panic and confusion.  
“C’mere Clefairy~” Hayley cooed as Blastoise calmly swam back over. She reached over and plucked the fairy Pokémon and inner tube out of the water, hugging it close. “Alright Blastoise, back to land please!”  
“Toise!” The Blastoise nodded, swimming back to shore, a bit slower since Hayley wasn’t holding on tight.  
Within a few moments, they made it back to shore where the girl and her father, as well as Tashi, were waiting. “Clefairy!!” The little girl squealed in pure joy.  
“Clefairy!” The pink Pokémon cheered, hopping out of Hayley’s arms to the little girl who hugged her pokemon tight.  
“Thank you so much!” The father said gratefully. “How can we ever repay you?”  
“It was no trouble~” Hayley assured him. “Just be careful of riptides from now on, okay?”  
The little girl and her Clefairy nodded in understanding.  
“What was that thing I saw you fight out there?” Tashi asked once the little family was out of earshot.   
“Sharpedo.” Hayley said cooly. “Dark and water type, evolved from Carvhana, able to mega evolve, no problem for Blastoise to handle!”  
Blastoise puffed up proudly. It was then that Tashi noticed that Blastoise was wearing a necklace with a strange charm on it. It looked like a red and blue marble.  
“Mega evolve?” she asked.  
“Oh yeah! Pokémon can mega evolve if you have the proper item and a key stone. I have mine in my watch.” Hayley explained as they walked back to their area. “It’s like… a big ol’ power boost, but after the battle, they go back to normal!”  
“That’s good!” Tashi smiled.   
“It is!” Hayley agreed, grabbing her flip-flops. “Hey! It looks like they have paddleboard rental over there! Wanna try?”  
“Sure!” Tashi nodded. Why not?  
The two spent the rest of the day having fun. They paddled around on the paddleboard, falling off every time they tried to move or just sitting on it, trying to move it other ways. Around noon, they had a picnic with their Pokémon, eating sandwiches and fruit and berries, finishing it off with some frozen yogurt being sold at a nearby stand. They swam and rested and read and had fun. When the sun started to go down, Tashi sat up from the towel she was resting on. “What’s that?”  
Hayley moved her sunglasses to see. Not too far out to see, dozens of red lights were floating out on the water. “Oh! Those must be the Staryu!”  
“Wowww…” Tashi whispered.  
“Wanna go see them up close~?”  
“Can we?” Tashi asked, very interested.  
“Sure! Blastoise can take us out there! Right bud?” Hayley patted the huge tortoise who was lounging next to her.  
“Blast!” He nodded, standing up and trundling over to the water’s edge.  
The two girls followed and hopped onto his back when he was ready. The Pokémon moved slowly and steadily, drawing closer to the red lights.  
Soon, they got close enough to see the Staryu near the surface. “Oh wow…” Hayley whispered in awe.  
Tashi nodded, feeling the same. There were so many of them, it looked like they were trying to mimic the starry sky in the ocean.   
“I’ve never actually seen them like this.” Hayley admitted. “I’ve only read that they did this in the pokedex…”  
Tashi leaned over a little closer to see better, holding on as to not fall off. However, nature had other plans, namely, the Sharpedo from earlier seeking its revenge. It came out of nowhere, knocking right into Blastoise, causing Tashi to go flying with Hayley just barely holding on.  
Tashi splashed into the water, sinking slightly before coming to her senses. But now she didn’t know which way was even up or down! She tried not to panic, but she had no air! She had the wind knocked out of her and now if she didn’t find the surface-!  
Suddenly, something gently bumped into her torso, pushing her up and in mere seconds, breaking through the water’s surface. Tashi gasped, taking in much-needed air. “Oh gosh… Oh gosh…” She panted, looking around to find who had saved her.  
In front of her floated a single Staryu. “Stah!” It said, the jewel in its center flashing.  
“Did you save me?” She asked, now treading water.  
“Stah!” The Pokémon said, it’s topmost point bobbing as if to nod.   
“Thank you!” Tashi said in relief. “I could have drowned!”  
“Sweetie!!” Hayley came swimming up behind her on Blastoise, the Sharpedo having been defeated. “Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, this Staryu saved me!” Tashi motioned to said Staryu, who was now beside her.  
“Wow! I’ve never heard of Staryus saving people!” Hayley mused, helping Tashi up.  
“Stah!’ The starfish said, flashing proudly, swimming closer to Blastoise.   
“Hey… do you wanna come with us?” Hayley asked. “Tashi! Want a Staryu?”  
Tashi practically felt the stars in her eyes pop up. “Sure! But, don’t you need a pokeball?”  
“I have some in my bag by our stuff~” Hayley assured her.  
“Alright! Hey, do you want to be my new friend?” Tashi asked, holding out a hand.  
“Stah!” Staryu spun happily, placing a point in Tashi’s hand for her to pull aboard the tortoise Pokémon.  
The group swam back as it began to grow dark. The other Pokémon were helping to pack up their space once they came ashore. Tashi introduced Buzzy and Snuffles to their new friend as Hayley dug out a pokeball for her. This one was blue and had a black diamond line pattern on the top. “A net ball!” Hayley told her.  
Tashi tossed the ball at Staryu, capturing it, but letting it out soon after to walk (or rather, ride on Snuffles) back to the bus station with them. It had been a long and exciting day.


	6. Home Remedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tashi finds and cares for a sick pokemon at home

Tashi woke up one morning to a quiet house. Hayley had let her sleep in! She thought a moment as her brain tried to wake up. Eventually she remembered that her bestie had told her that she would be at the ranch early in the morning and for most of the day because a class was having a field trip there. Once Tashi made it downstairs for breakfast, she found a note on the table “Fed the Pokémon already. Took my Vulpixes with me. Should be home around three, see you later~ Boo” with a little heart on the end.  
Tashi smiled and went to pour herself some cereal. As she ate, she noticed that the house seemed a bit quiet. She paused and listened. After a moment of nothing, she heard noises coming from they backyard. Content with knowing where her Pokémon were, she finished up and put her dishes in the dishwasher. She glanced out the window and saw Snuffles and Buzzy off in the corner of the garden. They seemed to be looking at something. Curious, Tashi headed outside through the porch door. “What’s going on?” She asked her Pokémon once she got closer.  
Buzzy promptly began flapping her wings franticly as Snuffles tooted in distress. “Hold on! Hold on…” Tashi knelt down to try and talk to them when she saw the problem.  
Laying under the Cheri berry tree was a little grey mouse-like Pokémon. It was breathing heavily with much difficulty, it’s face a bit red. “Oh no, you poor thing!” Tashi whispered, holding a hand out to it for it to smell.  
It gave it a little sniff, but then sneezed and whimpered, shivering a little “Mii…” it whimpered.  
“H-hold on!” Tashi said, flustered.  
She rushed into the house and grabbed a towel from the kitchen before hurrying back outside. She gingerly scooped the Pokémon into the towel and carried it inside. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” She whispered to the little thing.  
The Pokémon peeked up at her with a tired eye before curling into the towel and shivering some more. Tashi held onto the Pokémon as she went to grab the phone. “Could you two see if we have a shoebox or something like that?” She asked of her two Pokémon.  
They nodded in determined understanding before running upstairs to find something to keep the little mouse in. Tashi held onto the phone, trying to call Hayley to see what to do. However, it went to voicemail. She must have been busy with the class.  
Tashi began to worry. She wasn’t sure about what to do with this Pokémon, or even what it was! That’s when she spotted a little red device next to the PC. “Boo’s pokedex!” She sighed in relief.  
She grabbed the device and flipped it open, pointing it on the creature in her arms.  
“Minccino.” The device chirped “The chinchilla Pokémon. These Pokémon prefer a tidy habitat. They are always sweeping and dusting, using their tails as brooms. Minccino greet each other by grooming one another thoroughly with their tails.”  
“Cute~” Tashi smiled, scrolling through the rest of the information.  
Eventually, she reached the stats of the specific Pokémon in she held. Its health was very low and it had a status that she had never heard of! It only had three question marks. She knew Pokémon could be poisoned or burned, but she had no idea what this was! Maybe a cold? “Don’t worry Minccino, we’ll cake care of you~” She promised, gently petting the creature as she set it on the sofa in the living room, surrounded by blankets.  
“Mii…” The Pokémon whispered, peeking up at her with a small smile.  
“Alright… let’s see…” Tashi looked around a bit, trying to find something to treat Minccino with. She figured regular human medicines wouldn’t work, so she’d have to go back to nature! Hayley had berry trees growing all along the fence in the back yard, but Tashi couldn’t remember them all, so she’d have to simply guess. Tashi had also started a little herb garden. Hayley had told her about different herbs having effects on Pokémon. She had also said that most Pokémon didn’t like them due to their bitter taste, so Tashi wanted to fix that!  
For the moment however… Tashi looked around at the different berries. She remembered the pink Pecha berries were particularly yummy, but those were for poison. But maybe that would help? Tashi picked up the berry-picking basket Hayley had left outside and picked a couple. She looked around some more, trying to recall what the berries all did. She’d have to ask Hayley to maybe label them for her. Like a bolt from the blue, she suddenly remembered that Sitrus berries were good for recovering a fair bit of a Pokémon’s health! But she couldn’t remember what a Sitrus berry looked like! She groaned in frustration, cursing her terrible memory.   
“Cherr?”  
Tashi looked behind her to be greeted by a cute little Pokémon that looked like a cherry blossom with a body and a sunshine face. She remembered Hayley had called it “Cherrim!” She brightened.   
Cherrim took care of the garden! She would know which berries were which! “Could you help me out? I need to find the Sitrus berries.”  
“Cherrim!” The little flower chirped, smiling brightly.  
Cherrim skipped over to a tall tree with many gold pear-shaped fruits. “Rim!” She beamed, swinging the squirtle-shaped watering can she held.  
“Thank you!” Tashi sighed with relief, picking a few. “There’s a sick Pokémon in the house, a Minccino. Do you know what else would help?”  
The flower thought a moment before perking up and nodding happily, skipping over to another tree. She brought Tashi to a few trees she thought might help. “Thank you so much!” Tashi hugged the flower Pokémon once her basket was full of berries.  
She hurried into the kitchen and pulled out the blender. She would prefer to crush them by hand, but she didn’t have anything to do it with, and some berries had tough skin. She placed one of each into the machine, put the top on and let it go.  
When it was done blending, she poured the smoothie into a bowl and grabbed a spoon. She brought it into the living room where she saw her Staryu-Twinkle- gently spraying the Minccino with a tiny amount of water. “Thanks Twinkle.” Tashi said, excusing the star as she knelt down beside the sick Pokémon. “Hey~” She whispered quietly. “Can you eat?”  
Minccino nodded weakly. Tashi took a tiny spoonful of the mush and held it up to its mouth. Minccino tasted it, making a face a little bit, but it ate the spoonful slowly. It didn’t take long for Minccino to begin to look a lot better. “Minnci~!” It hummed happily after a while.   
“Feel better?” Tashi asked, smiling.  
“Min!” It squeaked, sitting up more.  
Tashi pulled out the pokedex and looked at its status again. Sure enough, its health was almost completely full and the strange status condition was gone! “Looks like you’re all better!” She said, delightedly.  
“Mii!” The Pokémon cheered, jumping over to Tashi and hugging her. “Mi mi!” It snuggled her happily.  
“Aww~ Is that how you say thank you?” Tashi asked, petting the cute Pokémon. “Hey… would you like to be my new friend?”  
Minccino’s eyes went wide, then cheered again, bouncing joyfully. Tashi laughed “Is that a yes?”  
Minccino nodded.  
“Okay!” Tashi stood up with a smile. “Hmm… I’ll give you a name later…”  
The little Pokémon saluted, then jumped up onto the TV stand and started to sweep away the dust with its tail. A rather strange way of celebrating, but Tashi wasn’t going to complain.  
A couple of hours later, Hayley came walked in the door. “I’m home!” She called.  
“Welcome home Boo!” Tashi greeted her, hurrying to meet her, carrying her newest friend.  
Hayley’s eyebrows rose, processing this. “You made a new friend!” She noted.  
“Yeah! Buzzy and Snuffles found her in the garden. She was sick, so I made a mixture of berries and things and healed her right up~” Tashi said proudly.  
“That’s great! But… why didn’t you just take her to the Pokémon center?”  
Tashi stared at her for a moment, before burying her face in Minccino’s fur and groaning loudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I would give for a pokemon who LIKED TO DUST


	7. Good Deeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley and Tashi bring some goodies to the local pokemon center for trainers on their journey with the help of Hayley's team. Tashi learns a little bit about Hayley's journeys

Hayley plunked the bags of groceries down on the counter, Blaze following suit. The two began to unload the bags, Hayley rather swiftly doing so. “Gardevoir! Give us a hand!” She said, quickly tossing the pokeball that held the Pokémon.  
Gardevoir appeared and gladly assisted with putting away the groceries. However, she noticed that her trainer was putting a lot of things to the side. “Garde?” she asked.  
“I’m gonna do a thing.” Hayley said simply. “I’ll explain once everyone’s up.”  
The embrace Pokémon shrugged and continued to unpack the bags, bringing them back out to Hayley’s bike basket when they were empty. She could sense Hayley wasn’t stressed or anxious, but sort of excited.  
Eventually Tashi came downstairs, and was greeted to the sight of the three making sandwiches. There was also a little Pokémon who looked like a Pikachu but with red standing on a table, packing a cooler with what looked like different kinds of cheese.  
“Umm…?” Tashi asked, searching for words.  
“Oh good! You’re up!” Hayley smiled and went to hug her friend before resuming her work. “I decided that I wanted to do a nice thing, so I’m bringing food and bagged meals to the nearby Pokémon center! Sometimes trainers who are just starting out have a hard time getting money for food and they’re exhausted and stuff and they tend to stay at Pokémon centers, so I figured, why not make free meals? I might do this for a few other centers…”  
“That’s so sweet Boo!” Tashi beamed proudly. “Is there anything I can do?”  
“You can help Plusle pack up the coolers!” Hayley decided, jerking her head at the little Pokémon at the table.  
“Plus!” He cheered happily, waving.  
“Well aren’t you cute~” Tashi smiled, shaking it’s little paw.  
The group went to work packing and making food. There were sandwiches of all kinds, fruits, cheeses, drink boxes, and even a few boxes of cookies! Hayley had also grabbed a bunch of berries from her trees outside.  
Tashi was a little confused when she saw her with another basket of various items, like TMs and strange stones and blue wrapped candies. “Just to help them on their journeys.” She explained. “I remember how tough it could be when I was just starting out as a trainer.”  
“Did you ever go hungry…?” Tashi asked, worriedly.  
“Nope, thankfully. I usually had enough pocket money to get by at the beginning~ But sometimes it did get tough…” She admitted. “I’d have to do some battling to get money, but since I was good at it, after a while, I learned how to take care of myself and my Pokémon on my journeys, even when I was starting over.”  
“Starting over?” Tashi asked. “What do you mean?”  
“Well…” Hayley told her story as she called out the rest of her Pokémon team to help carry things to the nearby town. “I started in Kanto, and as I adventured and made my way through the Pokémon league, another region was discovered! So, I left my Pokémon with Professor Oak and went on to try my hand at challenging Johto. Repeat a few times and now here we are in Kalos!” She smiled. “I finally managed to combine most of my Pokémon into one PC system so I have the best of all my teams~.”  
“You really love this, don’t you?” Tashi asked, a gentle smile on her face.  
“I do.” Hayley nodded. “Alright everyone! Let’s go!”  
The Pokémon all cheered and began walking. Hayley introduced Tashi to the new Pokémon from her battle team, Serperior (who she had named Phineas because it felt right) and Sylveon, who’s ribbons were stronger than they looked.  
“If you’d like, I can find you an Eevee to evolve into Sylveon.” Hayley offered.  
“Yes please…~” Tashi squeaked, enamored with the fairy type.  
The walk wasn’t too bad. Blaze was strong enough to carry three boxes in one claw and a folding table under the other arm. Sylveon carried a couple of coolers with her ribbons, Gardevoir carried some more coolers, and was moving a box with her psychic powers, Phineas-as well as Hayley’s two Vulpix-were pulling wagons with more boxes attached with makeshift harnesses and the two humans were carrying baskets. Princess carried Plusle on her back.  
It wasn’t long before they passed the daycare, the berry fields and the entrance to Parfum palace before entering the city itself. Hayley led the way to the Pokémon center.  
As they headed in, Tashi noticed that it was filled with dozens of trainers! Some were sprawled out on couches, some were playing with their Pokémon, some were talking to other trainers about their adventures as they rolled out sleeping bags. So this was the life of a Pokémon trainer? “Sweetie? Could you help hold the table up?” Hayley asked, breaking her train of thought.  
“Oh! Sure!” Tashi set her basket down and helped her friend set up the table.  
The two began setting up the food on the table, getting a few looks from the trainers themselves. Soon, it was lined with brown paper bags containing sandwiches and fruit and chips and pretzels, bowls of fruit, plates of cheese, paper plates and cutlery, boxes of cookies and rows of juice and milk boxes.  
Hayley and her Pokémon, as well as Tashi and hers, stood behind the table. “Brace yourselves.” Hayley said to the troops before she inhaled and yelled “FREE FOOOOOOOD!!”  
Suddenly they were swarmed by trainers, luckily Hayley had a plan of action. Plusle and Gardevoir would help pass out food quickly and Phineas and Princess were in charge of crowd control. Sylveon replenished their stock and Blaze held the table in place, as it tended to be pushed. Buzzy and Snuffles helped direct people in some sort of fashion.  
Soon, everyone had gotten something to eat and was chowing down hungrily. As people finished, they came back for seconds or to ask if they could take some with them, to which Hayley was more than happy to oblige. She also put out the basket of Pokémon goodies, which were happily taken by trainers. Tashi was surprised when one trainer used what looked like a sun-shaped rock to evolve his Pokémon!  
As all of the commotion died down and it grew later, Hayley made sure all of the trainers were set up with food and goodies before they packed up and waved goodbye, the grateful trainers calling “thank you!” behind them.   
As they exited, one trainer stopped them “Um, Thank you so much. I just wanted to give you this!” She held out a pink pokeball with a heart on it. “It’s the Pokémon Swirlix. I caught two by Parfum palace today, and I think it would love a home with people like you!”  
Tashi and Hayley exchanged flabbergasted looks. “W-well, thank you!” Hayley gasped. “Um, I don’t need anything, your thanks are enough, but my friend here could do with a fluffy Pokémon friend!”  
Tashi was about to cut in with something about how it was fine, but the girl pushed the ball into her hands “Oh thank you so much! I’m sure you’ll be great friends!”  
“Th-thank you!” Tashi stammered, truly greatful.  
The trainer bid them goodbye and the group headed home. “Swirlix is a fairy type!” Hayley said. “How about you let it out?”  
“Oh! Of course!” Tashi tossed the ball and watched the Pokémon appear. It looked like a puff of cotton candy with a bearish face and a tail.  
“Swirl!” It said happily, bouncing over to Tashi for a hug.  
She noticed it was sticky like cotton candy too! “How CUTE!” She proclaimed, giving it a hug.  
She didn’t care if her clothes got sticky! She had a new friend!  
The group headed home, Hayley telling her about Swirlix as a species, their hearts full of happiness thanks to their good deed.


	8. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley receives a life-changing invitation in the mail

It was an average day on Route 6 of the Kalos region. Tashi was helping Cherrim water some flowers when the mailman came by. Tashi thought he was rather cute and was glad to talk to him. “Morning!” He greeted her, walking closer, a few letters in hand.   
“Morning!” Tashi greeted back, moving closer as well to receive the mail.  
“I’ve got something important here for “Hayley?” He said, looking at one of the letters.   
Tashi noticed it was sealed with a sticker of a pokeball that looked like it had a lightning strike going through the white part. “She’s my housemate. Need me to sign for it?”  
Hayley never got anything to sign for… and for a letter, it was especially odd.  
“Yes please!” The mailman smiled and handed her his clipboard, which she scribbled on and handed back.   
“Thank you!” She said, taking the postage.  
“All in a day’s work!” He said, tipping his hat, which bore the resemblance of a Pelliper. “Have a good one!”  
Tashi waved and watched him go before heading into the house. “Boo! You have mail!”  
Hayley was lounging on the couch, recovering from a long run at the Battle Chateau. Evidently, she had issued a “Black Writ of Challenge” Which meant tougher opponents and more experience for any Pokémon she wanted to evolve. “Mm…?” she asked, moving the arm draped over her eyes.  
Tashi handed her the envelope.  
Hayley lifted her eyebrow at the return address, then turned it over, whereupon her eyes widened. “This is the emblem for the Pokémon league.” She said, sitting up as she did so.  
Tashi sat beside her friend as she tore the envelope open. “What is it?”  
Hayley skimmed the letter briefly, her grip tightening a fraction as a strange smile spread across her face. “Sweetie…” She squeaked, turning to her friend. “Wanna go to the Johto region~?”  
Tashi was confused. “Why…?”  
“Because I have been invited to take the gym leader aptitude test in Goldenrod city~” The trainer explained, her grin widening.  
“OHMYGOSH BOO!” Tashi threw her arms around her friend. “That’s great!”  
“I KNOW, I’M SO EXCITED!!” Hayley shrieked. “I’m sure nerves will set in, but there isn’t a moment to lose!” she looked at the paper again once they released each other. “The test is pretty soon, and Johto is a bit of a trek. We have to go by train and who knows how long THAT will take… We’d better get packing!”  
Tashi nodded. “Should I leave my Pokémon home?”  
“Bring one, just as a safety precaution.” Hayley said, standing. “I’ll loan you Mandibuzz again to fly, but I don’t think she’d listen to you in battle.”  
Tashi shrugged in agreement. Hayley had told her Pokémon of certain levels would only listen to their trainers in battle if they had certain badges.  
“Let’s go!” Tashi agreed, heading upstairs with her bestie to pack.  
They packed up and headed off two days later. Hayley made sure to tell her ranch Pokémon and left the house under the guard of her Mightyena and Gallade and they were off.  
They flew to Couriway Town and after waiting for a little bit, hopped on the train for Goldenrod City! Hayley called ahead and made a hotel reservation before telling Tashi about Goldenrod City, highlighting the Pokelathon Dome they built recently, the National Park, the day care center nearby, the gym, the shopping centers and, of course, the radio tower.  
The train ride lasted about a day, during which the girls slept, talked and things. Hayley looked up what to expect on the test (this was not helpful) and Tashi played with Buzzy. “Thing must be confidential…” Hayley murmured, closing her device. “There’s nothing that says what the test is even like!”  
“I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors” Tashi assured her.  
Hayley smiled. “You are a precious being made of love, hope and joy~”  
Soon after, the girls heard a voice come over the intercom. “Now arriving at Goldenrod City! Goldenrod! The accent is on the “o”!”  
“FINALLY!” Hayley groaned, standing and grabbing her bag.  
The two stepped off the train, out of the station and into the big city.  
“Wowww…” Tashi whispered, staring up at the many tall buildings.   
“Goldenrod is the fourth largest city in the Pokémon world!” Hayley recited. “Lumiose being number one! I… can’t remember the other two.”  
“That’s okay, as long as you can find the hotel in this one.” Tashi assured her.  
Hayley led her to the hotel, which sported a logo with a Blissey petting a Mareep. They checked in and upon arrival in their rooms, flopped onto the beds. “SPACE.” Hayley groaned again.  
Tashi groaned something that didn’t sound like English.  
“Test is tomorrow…” Hayley grumbled, sitting up to look at the letter again. “I’ve gotta get my team ready…”  
“You know who you’re gonna use?” Tashi asked, lifting her head up a smidge.  
“I think so. I have five picked out and a possible sixth.” Hayley murmured, her mind going through her PC box marked “Fire” “For now, I vote we put our stuff away and then get food and then sleep.”  
“Seconded.” Tashi nodded.  
The girls did just that, emptying their bags into drawers before heading out and finding a random place to eat. They retired back to their room shortly after and got ready for bed.  
Hayley was worried about the test, mostly because she had NO idea what she was getting into, but also what would happen not if she failed… but if she passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short, but it's mostly set-up


	9. Test Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley takes a test to determine if she can be a Gym Leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can spot the cameos~

Hayley woke up early the next morning, leaving Tashi a note when she left. She grabbed a muffin from the breakfast bar downstairs (and a few other things because she wasn’t crazy, breakfast was important) and headed out. Apparently, the center where the test was being held was a few blocks north of the hotel, not too far away. Hayley took a breath as she looked at the map on her poke’gear and started walking. After a bit, she stopped at a crosswalk, next to a very expensive-looking car. Hayley glanced over to look. The window was down, so she saw a young girl with blonde hair and expensive clothing. The girl glanced over at Hayley and scoffed. “James, drive faster. The rabble seem to be closing in. Perhaps they think being close will make wealth rub off on them. Not very bright are they?” She laughed haughtily as the light changed and they sped off.  
Hayley’s jaw hung open for a moment. What a little brat! She stomped her foot in frustration before marching in a huff across the street. Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to see that brat again.  
Or that’s what she thought before she entered the test building. “Son of a fish…” She grumbled, seeing the same rich girl at the registration desk.  
She decided not to say anything as she approached. “ExCUSE me!” The girl barked, flipping her hair. “I most certainly AM on the list! HERE is my letter…” She shoved it in the face of the attendant. “Rich Girl Sarah!”  
The attendant backed away from the paper and looked at the computer again. “Ah… here it is. Yes, you are signed in.”  
“About time.” Sarah huffed, stomping away to the waiting area.  
Hayley let out a low whistle once she was far enough away as she approached the desk. “Ranch Head Hayley.” She recited for the poor woman.   
Once she was signed in, she sat on a chair near Sarah, as it was the only one left open. She noticed that Sarah spent the whole time talking loudly on her cell phone about the plebeians and how she could take them all on easily with the Pokémon her daddy bought for her. Could she GET any more stereotypical?   
Finally, after what felt like hours, the doors to the test room opened. The trainers all stood and filed in. The room looked like an ordinary classroom, which disappointed Hayley a bit. “Hello everyone, welcome to the Gym leader aptitude test! My name’s Amanda and I’ll be the proctor today.” The woman at the front of the room said with a smile. “Everyone take a seat and we can begin shortly!”  
Everyone grabbed a seat, luckily, there seemed to be enough to go around and the rich girl sat far from Hayley.   
“Welcome everyone!” Amanda said again with a big smile. “So, first, I’d like to say congrats for being chosen to take this exam! The exam will be in two parts, first will be a brief written test, the second part will, of course, be the battling portion! It will be done tournament style, beginning by matching up type differences. This is to see if as a gym leader, you will be able to face a trainer who has prepared Pokémon that target the weakness of your Pokémon. Now then, our assistants will pass out the tests and pencils and we can begin! You may begin when ready.”  
One trainer raised their hand. “Yes?”  
“You said the battle portion would be tournament style… does that mean only one wins? And if so, why bother with a written test?” He asked.  
“An excellent question.” Amanda said, nodding. “Since Gym leaders do not typically turn over very often, it is not a career that has a lot of openings. However, it does happen, and this is to fill the next possible opening, which we heard may be happening soon in the Kalos region.” The trainers murmured amongst themselves. “Evidently, the Elite Four’s Malva will be retiring due to her connections to Team Flare and her desire to work more on HoloCast news, so Wulfric will be stepping in.”  
Hayley’s eyebrows rose. That meant they could have a new fire-type gym! “As for the written exam,” the proctor went on. “It’s mostly to see who we can call back for the next test, should the need arise. Now then! Let the test start!”  
Hayley received her paper and pencil as she said this and began to write. They were mostly short answer questions and multiple choice. Some were identifying who would win in certain battle situations with the given information (moves or levels) or trivia to identify a Pokémon or which current badges had what effects in the real world.  
It was a few pages, but it didn’t take long. Hayley flipped her paper over and waited to see what to do next. This was around the same time that Sarah stood up, strode to the front of the class and slapped the test down on the proctor’s desk. “WAY too easy.” She scoffed before going to sit down again.  
Nobody looked pleased.  
Once everyone had handed in the written exams, Amanda took the test and handed it to a human volunteer. “As these are being graded, we will move on to the main event. Everyone, follow me please!”  
The group stood and followed her through a door at the back of the classroom. “Wow…” Hayley whispered in awe.  
The door led to a HUGE open-air stadium, similar to professional ones, but about half as much seating, some of which was already filled.  
“Hope nobody gets stage fright!” Amanda teased. “Alright, here’s the roster!”   
She held up a remote that turned on the big screen, displaying the roster, which then zoomed in to the first two trainers. “You two are up first!” the two boys nodded and went to take their positions on the field. “Everyone else, please take a seat in the stadium over there.” Amanda pointed and then led the group so they could watch the battle.  
Hayley battled a bit later. She watched with great interest at the teams the other trainers had. The first boys were an ice-type and a dragon-type team. Surprisingly, the dragon boy scraped by! Though it seemed the ice boy was trying to make a pass at him the whole time, so he could have been distracted.  
There was a boy who had mostly Pokémon who were kind of mysterious, like Yamask and Cubone. Apparently his sister was there too and she fought with cute fairy types and a Grumpig for some reason.   
There was another ice-type trainer-who was loudly cheered on by her sister and her boyfriend in the crowd-who Hayley got to fight and won against.  
Another trainer used Pokémon that seemed to come from outer space, like Clefable and Elgyem. However, a rather stoic trainer that only seemed to use Alakazam- though it was stated that he used highly intelligent Pokémon- defeated him.  
One boy used machine-like Pokémon like PorygonZ and Magneton, but was disqualified when his older brother appeared and informed the proctor that he had hacked the computer system and was not supposed to be there.  
There was a middle-aged guy who used fighting Pokémon and was cheered on by a little girl in the audience along with another couple, a teenage boy who used fossil Pokémon and a Slakoth for some reason, a cheerful young man who used mouse-like Pokémon and a Smeargle that knew some good moves, a teenage girl who used Pokémon that evolved with a moon stone who teared up after being beaten, but put on a brave face and graciously accepted defeat, a young woman who used Pokémon that all had sharp teeth and knew different biting moves, which was all she used, a teenage boy who fought with a few tree-like Pokémon like Sudowoodo and Trevenant and a Pidove for some reason and a Politoad. Evidently it was his brother’s idea. There were other trainers who specialized in steel type, flying type, ground and rock type, even one with several eeveelutions! But they were all defeated until only two remained. Hayley and Sarah.  
Evidently the gods hated Hayley, as Sarah was a water-type trainer. The two stood across from each other on the battlefield. “I’ll send you out to the trash where you belong!” Sarah taunted her.  
Hayley grimaced, unable to think of something to say back. What a BRAT!  
“Alright!” Amanda’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Since this is the final battle, I’d like to add in something extra! Trainers, give a small speech like you would if you were a gym leader facing a trainer! Sarah! You first!”  
Sarah tossed her hair. “I’m Sarah, leader of this gym! You think you’re strong enough to beat me and my purebred water Pokémon? You must be joking! I’ll pulverize you!”  
Hayley’s eyebrows furrowed, but before Amanda could cue her, she smiled and puffed out her chest a bit. “Nice job making it all the way here!” She said kindly and cheerfully, which seemed to throw Sarah. “My name’s Hayley, I’m the head of the ranch and the leader of this gym! I specialize in fire types! My bond with my Pokémon is strong enough to melt rock and ground and evaporate water. Can you stand up to the white-hot passion we share?” With that, she held out her pokeball in a dramatic stance.  
The crowd burst into applause.   
It was Sarah’s turn to grimace. “Alright trainers…” Amanda added over the loudspeaker. “Let this final battle… BEGIN!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarah is named after a girl I was friends with in elementary school, but then started being mean to me. (She moved away, so I didn't suffer her very long)
> 
> CAMEOS! In order of appearance are:  
> Hiccup-HTTYD  
> Jack Frost-ROTG  
> Dipper and Mabel-Gravity Falls  
> Elsa, Ana and Kristoff-Frozen  
> Capitain Kirk and Spock-Star Trek  
> Hiro and Tadashi-BH6  
> Ralph and Venelope (with Felix and Calhoun)-Wreck-it-Ralph  
> Guy-The Croods  
> Mickey Mouse  
> Usagi-Sailor Moon  
> The Tooth Fairy-ROTG  
> Wirt and Greg-OTGW  
> That's everyone!


	10. Like Fire and Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah vs. Hayley, who will be victorious?

“Go, Lapras!” Sarah cried, tossing out her first pokeball.  
The water/ice type erupted out of the pokeball with a soulful cry, causing the crowd to “Ooh” in awe. “Alright Blaze, let’s go!” Hayley grinned, throwing out her pokeball.  
Blaziken appeared in a swirl of fire, ready to fight. The crowd cheered, excited for this battle of opposites.  
“Hmph. A fire type? Too easy. Lapras, use hydro pump.” Sara said boredly.  
As the Pokémon reared its head back, Hayley gave her command. “Jump! Blaze Kick!”  
Blaze leapt into the air with powerful legs to avoid the gushing water, only to come tearing back down, foot aflame. It crashed into Lapras, taking out a good chunk of HP according to the board. “What?! No! Do it again! And don’t miss this time!” Sarah ordered.  
Lapras squeaked in confusion, but turned its’ head as much as it could to try and attack Blaze again. “Sky Uppercut!” Hayley cheered, punching the air, just like she knew Blaze would be doing soon.  
Sure enough, Blaze backflipped off of Lapras’s back and landed in front of it, crouching down before striking it with an uppercut that sent it flying.  
The crowd cheered as Lapras’s health bar on the screen depleted and it’s image went grey. Sarah, however, gritted her teeth. “Useless…” She grumbled, recalling her fallen Pokémon. “Alright, maybe you’ll do better, Jellicent!”   
Out of the pokeball came a huge, pink, royal-looking jelly fish. The crowd cheered at the sight of another rare Pokémon.  
“Blaze, that was great, but let’s give another friend a turn!” Hayley smiled, recalling her Pokémon.  
Blaze nodded as he was returned. “Let’s go, Typhlosion!” Typhlosion erupted out of his ball like the volcano he was, his collar bursting into flame as he roared to the crowd.  
“Jellicent, water pulse!” Sarah barked.  
“Typhlosion, fire wheel away!”  
The volcano Pokémon lept into the air before curling up into a wheel, it’s flaming collar igniting the rest of it’s body as it charged out of the way. “Get it!” Sara screeched in anger.  
Jellicent cooed sadly, causing Hayley to raise an eyebrow. Why was it so unsure about attacking? Was Sarah as rude with her Pokémon as with people? She didn’t doubt it. “Do it now!!” Sara screamed again.  
Typhlosion had curved his path and was charging right at Jellicent. “Finish it with thunderpunch!” Hayley called.  
Once he was close enough, Typhlosion leapt out of his ball formation and punched the opponent, fist cracking with electricity. Due to Typhlosion’s higher level, it was a one-hit KO.  
“Great job!” Hayley cheered as Typhlosion ran back to her for a pet and some cuddles, its’ collar going out to be safe.  
“NO!” Sarah stamped her foot. “UGH! Dewgong, you better win this!” She growled as she released her third Pokémon.  
“C’mon back Typhlosion~” Hayley said, recalling her Pokémon. “Let’s go, Delphox!”  
The next two Pokémon battles were tough, but Hayley won each. Delphox used it’s psychic powers to redirect the water away from itself before using shadow ball to knock out Dewgong, then Chandelure (who everyone was delighted to see was shiny) took down Milotic, who seemed to be at a rather low level. During the battles, Hayley noticed that her Pokémon looked unsure and even scared. Milotic even refused to attack at a few points.  
The board showed that Sarah had one Pokémon left. “Vaporeon! I choose you!” She cried out, releasing her final Pokémon.   
Vaporeon looked lovely, it’s fish tail glistening in the sunlight. It looked positively demure, and Hayley noticed it was a higher level, but she wasn’t going to give up.  
“Part-time pet, part-time partner~ Go, Vulpix!”  
She threw the pokeball right over her head so Vulpix could make a dramatic entrance, and boy did it. The ball popped open, releasing the light that formed the shape of the Pokémon, who did a flip before landing on all fours and exploding in sparkles. Hayley’s beloved shiny Vulpix. The crowd went nuts.  
“Just because it’s shiny doesn’t mean it’s any stronger than a normal Vulpix!” Sarah spat, venom in her voice. “Water Pulse!”  
Vaporeon wasted no time in shooting the water from it’s mouth, the stream pulsing as the attack name said.  
“Faint attack!” Hayley ordered.  
Luckily, Vulpix knew what to do. She seemed to vanish, appearing again off to the side of the stream, then vanishing again until she struck Vaporeon in the side.  
“NO!” Sara screamed. “Get her back! Use Aurora beam!”  
The rainbow beam burst from Vaporeon’s mouth and actually hitting Vulpix, who was knocked back a bit. However, since it was an ice-type move, it did little damage.  
“Hydro pump!” Sara commanded.  
“Flamethrower to counter!” Hayley retaliated  
The two Pokémon let loose their strongest attacks, both streams meeting in the middle, pushing on each other, creating steam.   
“Why?” Hayley called over the attacks. “Why are you so mean to your Pokémon?”  
Sarah was taken aback. “I-it’s none of your business!” She snapped  
“So you don’t deny it?” Hayley shot back. “Your Pokémon don’t trust you, they don’t even seem to LIKE you much!”  
“Vaporeon does!” Sara cried, her voice cracking a little.   
“Do you know that for sure?” Hayley went on. “The way you order your other Pokémon around, I sincerely doubt it.”  
“She has to! She was my first Pokémon! If she had evolved into Sylveon, like I wanted-!” Suddenly, she stopped. “N-no, water types are better, they’re cooler and s-stronger… and they’ll beat this Vulpix of yours!”  
During this heated exchange, the Pokémon’s attacks grew stronger, feeling the passion of their trainers words, but the field had become covered in steam and haze. Suddenly, there was a loud rushing sound as one attack overtook the other. Everyone was silent, waiting for the fog to clear.  
As it did, they saw the two quadruped Pokémon both standing, out of breath… until Vaporeon fell to the ground, her picture going grey on the screen.  
“NO!!” Sarah ran out to the field and retrieved her fallen comrade as the screen flashed with Hayley’s victory.  
Hayley rushed out into the field to talk to Sarah, Vulpix trotting behind her. “Sarah…” Hayley said as she crouched down to talk to her. “What did you mean before…?”  
Sarah, who had begun crying, sniffled and hugged her fallen Pokémon. “M-my family is a bunch of water-type trainers, a-and I really look up to Wallace from the Hoenn Region. He’s so great at contests and his Pokémon are so cool. B-but I always wanted to try to train fairy types… they’re super cute, you know?” She took a deep breath to continue. “One day, I got an Eevee from one of my mother’s friends. They don’t train any one type of Pokémon. B-but Grandfather had a water stone and Eevee got too close one day…” She sobbed once before talking again. “E-Eevee was my best friend! We shared everything! I-I know she remembers that, but I never wanted her to evolve into Vaporeon! I wanted her to become a Sylveon! A-a Pokémon that evolves with love! I-I thought…” She sobbed again.  
“You feel like she didn’t evolve into Sylveon before because you didn’t love her…?” Hayley ventured.  
Sarah nodded.  
“Sarah, I know this is way after the fact, but… did Eevee know any fairy type moves?”  
She shook her head.  
“Eevees need love AND to know a fairy type move before they evolve into Sylveon!” Hayley told her with a smile. “Eevee DID love you, and Vaporeon loves you too. She tried her hardest out of all of your Pokémon.”  
Sara sniffled and looked at her Pokémon who was waking up now. “Really…?”  
“Of course.” Hayley nodded, handing her a Fresh Water. “I’ve heard that Sylph is developing a de-evolution spray… if you want a Sylveon that badly.”  
Sarah pursed her lips in thought. “I dunno… I mean, I do, but… what about Vaporeon?”  
“Vaa…” The weakened, but conscious Pokémon nodded up at her trainer.   
“I think she just wants you to be happy.” Hayley said simply.  
“Thanks… I just, I’m not comfortable training Water types. It would be like you training… I dunno…”  
“Ground types.”  
The two girls chuckled. “Sorry I was so horrible earlier. I was nervous and I wanted to prove I could be a good trainer to my parents.” Sarah added, standing up.   
“I think under better circumstances, you could be a GREAT trainer.” Hayley assured her. “And I expect to see you in my gym someday!”  
“Oh, we’ll be there!” Sara grinned, finally looking happy. “Oh, and, congratulations~”  
Hayley grinned right back. “Thank you.”  
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” The loudspeaker announced. “Our new, Pokémon League Certified Gym leader!”  
The crowd exploded in applause. Hayley picked up Vulpix and waved, the little fox mimicking her moves. She knew things would be a little different now, but she was so excited anyway!  
A brand-new Pokémon journey was about to unfold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to end this nicely cos I do not have a mean bone in my body. De-evolution spray is from the cards and has no basis in canon but WHY NOT???


	11. First Challenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley's gym is complete and now she receives her first challenger, Cameo of Rose Quartz from Steven Universe

Finally. After months of planning, designing, permits and general paperwork muck, Hayley’s gym was finally complete. It looked like every other gym on the outside, but inside was a beautiful autumn forest, forming a maze of gorgeous orange and red and yellow trees. (Hayley supposed she may have been inspired by Laverre city subconsciously.) They had hired several trainers to hide in the forest and challenge those who wished to face Hayley, asking them multiple choice questions, like “Which of these Pokémon is number 037 in the pokedex?” or “Which of these Pokémon does NOT evolve with a fire stone?”  
Hayley had designed her badge herself. It looked like a small candle flame with three sticks protruding from behind. She called it “The Kindling Badge.” No matter how big you get, you can never forget how you started.  
Hayley had stocked up on Flamethrower TMs should anyone manage to defeat her, and set the level release machine properly. At last, she was ready to accept challengers.  
She had practically memorized the Gym guide’s speech. “Hey Champ-in-the-making! Don’t let the foliage fool you, Hayley’s a master of the fire type! You can douse her Pokémon with water or smother them with ground, but be warned, like her gym, her Pokémon are not exactly as they first appear!”  
She stood at the head of her gym under the art of her badge, heart pounding. She was nervous, would she do alright as a gym leader? This must be how Flannery felt… Now all that was left to do was worry, and wait for her first challenger.  
Not long after she had checked the level release for the third time, Hayley heard the doors open and the Gym guide start his speech. She shifted nervously and arranged her party. Typhlosion would go first. His thunderpunch would stop any water types right out of the gate.  
Quite soon, the branch wall that blocked the way to Hayley parted to reveal her first challenger. It was a woman. As she approached, Hayley noticed she was very tall and very pregnant. She had dark, but friendly eyes and long, gorgeous pink curly hair.  
Hayley quickly shook herself from gaping and started her speech. “N-nice job making it all the way here! My name’s Hayley and I’m the leader of this gym! The bond I have with my fire-type Pokémon is strong enough to melt ground and evaporate water! Can you win against this bond that we share?”  
The woman smiled. It was a kind smile, but one laced with determination. “I would certainly like to try.”  
The screen off to the side of the battlefield (lined with fall vines to blend it in with the rest of the décor.) lit up with the images and names of the trainers. The challenger’s name was Rose.  
Hayley glanced at the screen, noticing that Rose had only four Pokémon. “Go, Typhlosion!” the new leader cried out, throwing out her first Pokémon.  
“Roserade, come out!” Rose called, throwing out a heal ball.  
This surprised Hayley. A Roserade? She knew this was a fire-type gym, right? But she shook it off. Never look a gift Ponyta in the mouth and all that. “Typhlosion, use flame wheel!” Hayley decided, testing the waters more than anything.  
As her firey Pokémon began to charge, Roserade looked back at her trainer, who nodded. Suddenly, Roserade leapt into the air, over Typlosion before landing with a spin.   
“Typhlosion! Turn around!” Hayley commanded, worried about her Pokémon running off the field.   
Luckily, it heard her and made a wide turn, charging for the grass type again. “Roserade! Sleep powder!” Rose announced. Sure enough, the Pokémon began to twirl, distributing the sparkling silver powder over the field, causing Typhlosion’s spin to slow, eventually stopping just short of Roserade, fast asleep.  
“Uh-oh…” Hayley murmured. “Typhlosion! C’mon bud, wake up!” She didn’t want to change out her Pokémon. She knew anything this Roserade could dish out, Typhlosion could take it, but still…  
“Petal Dance!” Rose declared, throwing a hand out like she was casting a spell.  
Roserade cried out in joy and began to dance around, stirring up petals that struck Typhlosion, lowering his health.   
“Typhlosion, c’mon bud!” Hayley began to get worried. She always did with status effects. “Use flamethrower!”  
Suddenly, Typhlosion’s eyes snapped open. It leapt into the air, breathing fire in a swirl at the rose Pokémon, engulfing it in flames. “Oh!” Rose gasped in surprise before recalling her fainted Pokémon. “That was quite the surprise!” She chuckled, pulling out another heal ball. “But I’m not done yet!”  
Hayley smiled, recalling her Pokémon as well. “Me neither!”  
The battle raged on. Hayley found she usually had the type advantage, only using Blaze, but Rose was a strong tactician and extremely clever and in tune with her Pokémon. She sent out a Blissey, a Bisharp and finally, a male Pyroar. It eventually ended with Hayley as the victor, her Blaziken mega evolved. Both were out of breath.  
The screen flashed with Hayley’s victory and Rose’s loss. She seemed a bit sad, but smiled all the same. “You all did wonderfully.” She told her team. She then looked up at Hayley. “It seems like I’m a bit rusty. We haven’t battled in a while.”  
“Well it was a really great battle.” Hayley assured her. “Maybe you can come back sometime and try again!”  
Rose shook her head. “Thank you, but I think after my baby is born… I don’t think I’ll be training anymore.”  
“I you say so…” Hayley replied, wondering why she looked so sad. “But maybe our paths will cross again someday!”  
Rose just smiled softly before turning and walking out of the gym.


	12. Happy Halloween!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Halloween in the Kalos region! Time for some Mega Fun!

It was Halloween in the Kalos region. Hayley had been DEEPLY relieved that they celebrated the holiday there, since she knew it was a fairly French region and the French didn’t celebrate Halloween. Though how could they not with Pokémon like Pumpkaboo floating around?  
Hayley had stocked up on candy to pass out at home. She and Tashi were both going to be passing it out, admiring the cute costumes the trick-or-treaters were wearing. Tashi’s Minccino was dressed as a vampire to greet the children, it was just as excited as the girls were. “Minii!” It chirped, making a vampire pose to show off it’s costume. “How cute!” Tashi cooed, giving it a pet.  
“I’m all set too!” Hayley announced.  
She had stocked up her team with spooky Pokémon to get into the spirit. She had a shiny Banette, a shiny Gengar, a shiny Pumpkaboo, her shiny Chandelure from her gym and a Honchcrow. She always carried an egg around so that took up her last spot.  
“That’s a lot of shiny Pokémon…” Tashi mused once her bestie told her the roster.  
“Yeah… I kinda wanted to show off~” Hayley smiled, placing the balls in her bag. “Trick or treat has started, so we should be getting visitors any minute now!”  
Sure enough, their doorbell began to ring. Hayley and her shiny Pumpkaboo and Tashi and her Minccino traded off opening the door, cooing at the adorable children in costumes, some dressed up as gym leaders!  
“Maybe someday, one of those kids will dress up like you!” Tashi pointed out, causing Hayley to wiggle bashfully.  
Once it got dark, the trick-or-treaters suddenly dropped off in frequency, which confused the two. “I wonder what’s keeping them?” Hayley mused.  
Thankfully, the doorbell rang, allowing Hayley to get up and answer the door. Outside was a mother with two children in Plusle and Minun outfits, crying. “I’m sorry,” Said the mother, “But there’s someone in the bushes right next to here jumping out and scaring children with his Pokémon!”  
Hayley gasped in horror, partly because children were present and partly to hide her building rage. “Oh my gosh! Thank you for telling me, we’ll get right on it!”   
She gave the children extra candy and sent them on their way before glaring in the direction the woman had pointed. “Sweetie, I’m gonna go kick some butt.” She growled, eyebrows furrowed.  
“Have fun!” Tashi waved, having overhead the woman.  
Hayley marched out of the house, considering allowing herself to be attacked so she could see the jerk, but she scared like a Bunnelby, so she figured that was not the right way to go. “Hmm…” She thought a moment.   
Finally, a brilliant idea hatched in her head. She grinned a Grinch-like grin and grasped the two dusk balls in her bag, sneaking behind the bushes. Sure enough, a few paces from her house, she spotted a young man, late teens or so, and an Ariados snickering in the bushes. “I hope you like the taste of your own medicine you wart on the backside of a Grimer.” Hayley cackled internally.  
She quietly released her two scariest Pokémon, her shiny Banette and shiny Gengar. “Alright guys, ready to do some scaring~?”  
The two ghosts snickered and cackled quietly as to not give away her position, more than ready to deliver a scare. “Alright, first, I need you guys to hold these.” She handed each of them a small dual-colored marble; A Mega Stone each. “On the count of three, you two jump and scare him with all you’ve got! I’ll take care of the rest~”  
Hayley was secretly a little worried. She didn’t know if dual mega evolution was possible… but she remembered this jerkwad and how he had been harassing small children all evening, robbing them of a night of fun! “How dare you…” Hayley snarled through gritted teeth, her key stone on her watch glowing with her determination.  
She and her Pokémon got into position. “One… Two… Three!”  
The two ghosts leapt from where they were and Hayley sprang into action herself. “Mega Evolve!!”  
Suddenly the ghosts were both enveloped in a crystalline orb, which exploded to reveal their new forms.  
The boy and his Ariados turned at the sound and shrieked in terror at the multi-mouthed Mega Banette and the huge, ghastly white Mega Gengar. The two were off like a shot before the ghosts could finish their battle cries.  
The two Pokémon burst into laughter at the sight of the boy fleeing down the road. They and Hayley stepped into the street to watch him go. Once they were clear, they exchanged high-fives. Now Halloween could go according to plan!  
As they walked (and floated) home, they waved at little children who stared at them in awe. Some even wanted a picture with the rare spooky Pokémon, who turned out to be huge hams for the camera. Hayley spent the rest of the night outside their home with her spooky team, taking pictures and things. Tashi eventually set up shop on the porch nearby.  
Eventually, one little girl dressed as the Gym leader Erica from Kanto, paused and stared at Hayley in awe. “Aren’t you the Camphrier Town Gym leader?” She asked.  
Hayley nearly felt her heart stop. “Y-Yes I am!” She said in surprise.  
“Cool!” The little girl gasped. “I’m gonna be you for next Halloween!”  
Hayley did her best to hold back a squeal. “Okay! You better come by so I can see your costume!”  
“I will!” The girl promised, earning her some extra candy.  
Hayley hugged herself. This was the best Halloween EVER!


	13. A Visit to Professor Sycamore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tashi and Hayley Visit Professor Sycamore to get a pokedex for Tashi, but there seems to be some trouble at the lab.

One lovely afternoon, Tashi walked out to the backyard only to see Hayley smothering affection onto the most beautiful Pokémon Tashi had ever seen. (The Pokémon seemed to be enjoying the attention.) It was a serpentine creature with a long golden and red fin with blue handlike streamers handing from above its eyes and red antenne.  
“Wow!” Tashi gasped. “It’s so pretty!”  
“I KNOW RIGHT?!” Hayley squealed, nuzzling the Pokémon lovingly. “I got her as a Feebas off the trade center and evolved her~ I love her so much!”  
“What is she?” Tashi asked, approaching the creature to give her a pet.  
“A shiny Milotic!” Hayley beamed. “Here’s what they usually look like.”  
She handed her friend her pokedex, who pointed it at the Pokémon. “Milotic is said to be the most beautiful of all the Pokémon. It has the power to becalm such emotions as anger and hostility to quell bitter feuding. Milotic live at the bottom of large lakes. When this Pokémon’s body glows a vivid pink, it releases a pulsing wave of energy that brings soothing calm to troubled hearts.” The device recited, showing a picture of Milotic in its usual colors.  
“Cool!” Tashi said, smiling.  
When she looked up to give Hayley her device back, she noticed her friend was chewing the inside of her cheek in thought. “I was thinking…” she began. “What if we got you a pokedex?”  
“Me?” Tashi asked, a little surprised.  
“Yeah! You don’t have to be a trainer to have one, and they’re super useful and you don’t exactly know every single Pokémon, so maybe we can get a copy of mine! Since it’s completed I mean.” Hayley explained.  
“That sounds good!” Tashi nodded, having a pokedex would be extremely handy!   
“And I know just the guy to do it!” Hayley grinned, recalling her lovely Pokémon. “Let’s fly~”  
Tashi still wasn’t too keen on flying (mostly the going up and down parts) but Hayley seemed really excited and rarely made her fly, so she figured she could stomach the trip.  
The two boarded their Pokémon (Tashi borrowing Mandibuzz again) and took off for South Lumiose City. It didn’t take very long at all, and as soon as they landed, Hayley rushed over to some kind of stand across the street from the pokemon center. Tashi waited, confused, but Hayley returned moments later looking bummed. “Too early for Lumiose Galettes.” She grumbled.  
Tashi patted her shoulder sympathetically, though having no clue what she meant.  
“Well, we’ll do this and maybe they’ll have some by the time we’re done! They’re super nummy~” Hayley smiled, leading Tashi to a large building with the work “LAB” spelled out on the cornerstone.  
The two walked in, (Hayley waving at the receptionist) and headed to the elevator where Hayley pressed the button for floor 3. “This is the lab of the Pokémon Professor in this region.” She explained. “His specialty is Mega Evolution!”  
“I didn’t know Pokémon Professors could have a specialty.” Tashi said, interested.  
“Oh sure! Like, Professor Elm has taken to studying what happens if Pokémon walk beside their trainers on their journeys and such!” As Hayley explained, the elevator beeped and the two stepped out.  
“HIT THE DECK!!!”  
The two yelped and ducked at the sudden scream and the flash of blue lightning zip above their heads. “What the cheesecake is going on?” Hayley squawked.  
Two lab assistants were running around the room, one with a butterfly net, one with a jar and lid, racing after the blue lightning. “It escaped!” One cried. “We need it for our theory!”  
“What are you talking about?” Tashi asked before ducking once more as the lightning zipped by again.  
“Professor Sycamore left us in charge of this Pokémon, the ghost electric type-“  
“Rotom!” Hayley interrupted. “Why not just use a pokeball?”  
“We don’t want it to be captured… we need a WILD Rotom to inhabit these devices!” The female assistant explained, swinging her butterfly net wildly.  
Behind them, among piles of boxes, were different electrical appliances; a blender, a refrigerator, a telephone, a lawn mower, an electric fan, a laptop computer and even an older version of the pokedex.  
“We were testing a thesis, seeing if Rotom could achieve mega evolution without a mega stone, but by inhabiting a certain object! In order for our theory to work, we need a wild Rotom with no emotional ties to either of us to act as a control!” The male assistant added.  
“While I see your point…” Hayley said casually, the Rotom zipping back and forth now. “This seems just a smidge dangerous.”  
“We know that now…” The female assistant grumbled, exhausted. “But wild Rotoms are hard to find and we’ve done all kinds of research so far…”  
“Well, why don’t you just knock it out with one of your own Pokémon?” Hayley asked, ducking once again.  
The two assistants looked at each other a moment before bashfully looking back at Hayley.  
“I have an Audino.”  
“I have a Machoke.”  
Hayley pursed her lips. “Alright.”  
“I’m not following…” Tashi said, just barley dodging the Rotom again.  
“Those are fighting and normal type Pokémon. Fighting and normal types don’t do squat against ghost.” Hayley explained, pulling out a pokeball. “But this will! Go, Gardevoir!”  
The psychic pokemon appeared with a curtsy. “We need to knock out that Rotom before it hurts anyone!”  
Gardevoir nodded firmly, looking around to get a grasp on the situation. “Garde?” she asked.  
“What’s wrong?” Hayley said, confused.   
Suddenly, it dawned on all of them. It was far too quiet. “Where did it go…?” Tashi whispered, as though afraid to spook it.  
The five were silent, listening for some sign it was still in the building… until they heard the rev of the lawn mower.  
“MOWER FORME!!!” Hayley shrieked.  
“What’s-?” Tashi tried to ask before she saw exactly what.  
An orange lawn mower with an evil grin and green aura came charging at the four humans seemingly from nowhere. All four screamed in some manner before hauling off to find a safe hiding spot. “What do we do?!” Tashi squeaked, hiding behind some boxes.  
Hayley and Gardevoir were both on top of a partition wall by said boxes, just out of its line of sight. The Rotom revved its motor, going back on two wheels and exposing its blades. That’s when Hayley got an idea. “Tashi! Do you have Twinkle with you?”  
Tashi quickly dug through her side bag and pulled out the Net ball that contained her beloved Staryu. “Okay, I have a plan!”  
Hayley quickly filled her friend in on her idea. “Think you can do it?”   
Tashi nodded firmly. “Twinkle, come on out!”  
The Staryu erupted from the ball with a bright flash, catching the attention of the lawn mower who revved again and showed its blades.  
“Gardevoir! Magical leaf!”  
“Twinkle! Water gun!”  
The two Pokémon let loose their attacks. Twinkle’s water gun soaked Gardevoir’s leaves, which began to clog up the blades of Rotom’s mower.  
Rotom sputtered, clearly distressed, but no longer on the rampage. “Gardevoir! Moonblast!” Hayley cried, fueled with determination.  
Gardevoir leapt gracefully off of her perch, firing a glowing white and pink orb at the opposing Pokémon. The attack was a direct hit, causing Rotom to faint and fall out of the lawn mower.  
“Oh thank the gourd.” Hayley sighed with relief, as one of the assistants scooped the Rotom up into the jar.  
“Very well handled!” A voice said near the elevator.  
The humans peeked around the wall to see who had spoken. “AH! PROFFESSOR!!” The assistants squeaked in unison. “W-We can explain!”  
The professor laughed in a friendly manner. “I understand! Working with Pokémon can be tricky and dangerous, but you all handled it very well.” He smiled at Hayley. “And you are lucky you had such a talented trainer to assist you.”  
Hayley blushed and squirmed. “Thank you~” She said bashfully.  
“Now then! What brings you to my lab Hayley?” Sycamore asked, hands on his hips, smile on his face.  
“Oh! Yeah! My friend needs a copy of my pokedex, if that’s possible?” Hayley explained, motioning to Tashi who had been petting Twinkle and complimenting it on a job well done.  
“Of course!” The professor walked over to Tashi who stood up and found herself right in front of the rather attractive professor. “A pleasure to meet you~” He said warmly.  
“S-same.” Tashi spluttered, a bit caught off guard, and surprised at how attractive a Pokémon professor was.  
“Are you a trainer as well?” He asked, motioning for the two of them to follow him to a large computer.  
“Oh no, I don’t think battling is my thing… I’m not sure what I do…” She admitted. “I want to help out at the ranch, but we’re not sure how yet.”  
“Well, whatever you do want to do, I’m sure you will excel at it.” Sycamore assured her. “You and your Pokémon seem to have a strong bond regardless of if you battle or not!”  
Tashi smiled proudly as Hayley gently bumped her hip. “So!” Hayley chimed in. “Did you need my pokedex?”  
“If you please!” Sycamore took the device and inserted it into a slot in the computer. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard before hitting one more button with an air of finality. Suddenly, images of Pokémon flashed on the screen almost faster than the human eye could register. Tashi had to look away and blink a couple of times. After a minute or two, the images stopped and a loading bar appeared on the screen, which filled up quickly, finally reading “Complete!” The Professor removed Hayley’s pokedex and handed it to her. “And now…” He typed in another code, which caused another loading bar to appear on screen.  
It filled up a few times before another “Complete!” appeared onscreen. “Finished!” Sycamore announced, as the machine, from another slot spit another pokedex out. “Be careful, it’s warm.”  
Tashi nodded and took the device gingerly, smiling. Finally, all the knowledge of Pokémon she could ever need at her fingertips! She was sure Hayley would still love to tell her things too, but this was good for a quick lookup. “Thank you so much!” She beamed.  
“It is my pleasure.” Sycamore smiled in return. “I hope you are able to figure out your place in this Pokémon world.”  
Tashi nodded. “I’ll do my best.” She promised.  
The two girls left the lab, Tashi skimming through the pokedex. “There are so many!” She gasped.  
“Over 700!” Hayley said, leading her towards the stand from earlier.  
“…Woah…” Tashi murmured as Hayley bought two Lumiose Galettes.  
“Yeah… and there’s one I’ve never caught.” Hayley grumbled. “Genesect. It’s like… a robotic Pokémon.”  
“I’m sure you’ll find it some day.” Tashi assured her, taking one of the pastries.  
“Thanks Sweetie.” Hayley smiled. “Now we each have our goals in this world.”  
Tashi nodded as the two nibbled on their treats, gazing up at the sky, contemplating their dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then the Pokemon20 event happened and I got a code for Genesect


	14. Pokemon League Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley is invited to a pokemon league gala and brings Tashi with her

Tashi went downstairs one morning to see Hayley pouring over a letter, a look of surprise and bafflement on her face. “What’s up, Boo?” Tashi asked carefully.  
Hayley looked up from the paper. “Sweetie…” She replied. “Wanna go to a gala?”  
Tashi figured more information would be required. “A gala?” she asked.  
“Turns out,” Hayley went on, standing up to show her the letter. “The Pokémon League has a gala once a year for gym leaders and elite four members as a sort of get-together, party thing.” She looked her bestie dead in the eye. “I am now a gym leader.”  
“You are that…” Tashi agreed. “Is this an invitation?”  
Hayley nodded, her face comically serious, before breaking into a grin. “Wanna come with me~?”  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
A few weeks later, Tashi and Hayley, dressed in their fanciest clothes, (A cute pink dress for Tashi, a nice red dress with concealed shorts for Hayley) at the illustrious Sushi High Rollers restaurant in Lumiose City. The Pokémon League had rented out the large ballroom just behind the actual restaurant for the event.  
As the two girls walked in, a young man asking to take their coats politely stopped them. “And if you wouldn’t mind, your pokeballs as well.”  
Hayley felt her chest tense up. “Our Pokeballs?”  
The young man smiled apologetically. “Yeah, there was an… incident… with Lt. Surge a few years ago…”  
The two reluctantly handed over their Pokémon and watched at he placed them on a tray and slid it into a safe with several other trays of pokeballs.  
With their Pokémon safely tucked away, the two headed into the ballroom.  
It was a sizeable room, gorgeously decorated, and filled with famous Pokémon trainers. “I have whooped all of their butts.” Hayley whispered to Tashi, who giggled at the comment. “Except for the new leaders in Unova… I heard there were some new ones but I haven’t gone back because reasons.” She amended bashfully.  
“I understand.” Tashi nodded, her eyes drifting to a tall, muscular man in his military best, facing away from them. “Ooh, who’s that~?” She asked, gesturing towards him.  
Hayley snorted back a laugh. “That, my dearest one my darling dear… would be Lt. Surge.”  
Sure enough, at that moment, he turned his head slightly to show his face. Tashi’s smile dropped. “Yeah, he may be a bit old for you.” Hayley smiled, cheekily.  
“A little bit.” Tashi agreed, chuckling slightly.  
“But fret not! There are a bunch of cute, eligible trainers here for you to fawn over, I promise!” Hayley said, draping an arm over Tashi’s shoulders for a moment as she motioned to the room full of leaders.  
Tashi did spot a few cuties right off the bat. “I think this’ll be fun.”  
“Sounds good. I want food, how about we nom and I point to people and give you information?” Hayley offered.  
Tashi nodded and the two headed towards the banquet table.  
Hayley pointed out the various gym leaders, noting the type of Pokémon they were known for and where they hailed from and sometimes little tidbits about them. Tashi told her which ones she found cute, including Blue (much to Hayley’s surprise) and Falkner, but she totally fell for Roark, who Hayley agreed was a cutie.  
However, someone tapping a glass with a fork soon interrupted the two. Everyone turned to look at the person making the sound, and went quiet.  
“Who is THAT?” Tashi whispered, stealthily pointing at the woman, dressed in feathers and a glorious white gown, exuding grace and elegance.  
“That’s Diantha, a famous actress and champion of the Kalos region.” Hayley whispered back.  
“Welcome, esteemed guests!” Diantha began, her voice carrying throughout the room. “Welcome our the 20th Pokémon League Gala! A time for good food, stories and conversations among the cornerstones and building blocks of the Pokémon League!” The other gym leaders clapped, Hayley and Tashi joining in shortly after it began. “So everyone have a good time. Dinner and dancing will be a bit later for those interested and as things wind to a close, casual Pokémon battling will be allowed.” The crowd murmured with excitement. “But for now, please enjoy the best of what the Kalos region has to offer, and please give a warm welcome to the newest Gym leader of the Kalos region, The warm-hearted fire lover, Hayley!”  
The crowd turned to Hayley and applauded, someone even whistling at one point, causing Hayley to turn the color of a cherish ball. She waved shyly though.  
The crowd soon dispersed back into talking until one red-haired woman, about Hayley’s age, pushed through to her and wrapped her in a big hug, which she returned on instinct. “Finally another new gym leader!!” She wailed in jubilation. “We can compare notes!”  
Hayley laughed and patted her back. “Hi Flannery.”  
Once she let go, Hayley introduced her to her friend. “Flannery, this is my best friend, Tashi, Tashi, this is Flannery! She’s a fire-type gym leader from Lavaridge in Hoenn!”  
“Nice to meet you!” Tashi smiled, giving a little wave.  
“Same here!” Flannery smiled kindly. “You’d be surprised how few fire-type nerds are here.”  
Hayley nodded. “Just us and Blaine. Oh, and Flint!”  
“Yeah, but he hardly counts.” Flannery laughed, waving her hand. “Last time I checked, Drifblim and Lopunny weren’t fire types.”  
The three chatted a bit more before heading off to hobnob with other people. Hayley happily introduced Tashi to the other leaders (especially the cute boys) and was about to bring her to Roark when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. “Hold on…” She murmured, pulling Tashi over to see.  
Sabrina, the Psychic gym leader from Kanto, was staring into nothing, her arms at her sides, frighteningly still. Candice was waving a hand in front of her face. “Sabrina?”  
“I think she’s having a vision.” Janine said, coming over. “She IS a psychic after all.”  
Shortly after she said that, Sabrina blinked out of her trance. But before saying anything, her eyes went wide and she raced out of the room, in such a panic that she pushed past people rather than moving them with telekenisis.  
The four girls raced after her, worried. However, once they left the ballroom, they didn’t see her in the restaurant. “Did you see a woman in a purple dress come through here?” Candice asked one of the waiters.  
He shook his head. “Not out here, I think I saw someone like that head into the coat check.”  
The group hurried to the coat check where Sabrina surely was, staring at an empty space near the back of the room.  
“Sabrina…?” Janine asked carefully. “What’s wrong?”  
“…Gone…” Sabrina said quietly. “I thought… it was a vision of the future but… it already happened… I…” She choked on her words.  
Suddenly, Hayley knew what Sabrina was staring at.  
The empty space once held a safe. The safe where all of the Pokémon of the gym leaders and elite four members were kept.  
“Our Pokémon are gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER!!!! Or it would be if I hadn't written the next chapter a year ago


	15. Furfrou to the Rescue!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The members of the pokemon league hunt down their missing pokemon

Candice had her pokegear out in a flash to call the police as a few of the other gym leaders gathered at the door to see what the commotion was about. “What happened?” Gardinia asked over the crowd.  
Hayley was trying to maintain composure, holding herself and breathing unsteadily. Blaze… Blaze had been in that safe… and her shiny Vulpix…  
“Someone stole the safe containing our Pokémon!” Janine said, holding Sabrina who had begun to shake, trying not to cry.  
“Hey! I found this guy locked in the broom closet!” Lt. Surge pushed through the crowd with the coat check boy. “He said three people in dark clothes attacked him from behind and- What happened?”  
News of the theft spread quickly through the gathered leaders. As they all began to talk over each other, Tashi noticed something, and wasted no time in pointing it out. “That door is open!”   
The group saw that the back door was indeed, ajar. “Maybe the crooks are still close by!” Maylene chirped hopefully.  
Without thinking further than that, Hayley charged for the door without a word and slammed it against the wall opening it up.  
For a split second, everyone thought that the thieves would be long gone. Nobody knew how long the safe had gone missing. Luckily, the thought was squashed when they all saw a truck parked outside the door leading to the back alley behind the restaurant. Not only that, but the back was opened, revealing the safe which was also opened, as well as a person dressed in black, their pant leg being gripped in the jaws of a Furfrou.  
“Let go you stupid mutt!” The person growled.  
“What’s the holdup?” Someone from the cab of the truck called.   
“It’s this stupid dog Pokémon!” The thief called back, but froze when he saw the pokemon world’s finest staring at them, some trying not to laugh. “Oh no… BOOK IT!! WE’VE BEEN MADE!”  
The van hadn’t been started, so Hayley thought fast and with a burning fury. “Furfrou! We need one of those pokeballs!”  
The poodle Pokémon yanked harder on the pants leg of the criminal, pulling them to the ground. It leapt onto the bed of the truck and grabbed a random pokeball out of the safe with it’s mouth and tossed it to Hayley.  
Hayley caught the ball, a premier ball. “Oh pleeeease be one of mine…” She whispered. “GO!” She tossed it, and with a flash of light, her Sylveon appeared. “THANK YOU CHANSEY! Sylveon! Get in front of the truck and blind them with dazzling gleam!”  
Sylveon didn’t miss a beat. She leapt on the truck and over it as it finally started up and cast her attack as soon as she landed.  
The driver and passenger let out roars of surprise, just as sirens drew closer and the Pokémon police arrived on the scene.  
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” One of the officers mused, stepping closer to the criminal on the ground, next to the Furfrou, who was sitting and wagging its tail politely.  
“Looker!” Hayley gasped in relief and joy. “What are you doing here? I thought you retired!”  
The detective chuckled. “It appears the Kalos region had one more case for me! I’d gotten word of a new criminal organization called “Team Umbra.” We didn’t have much to go on other than uniform appearance and name and that they were stealing Pokémon in any way that they could.”  
“Sounds like team rocket…” Blue mumbled, frowning.  
“Indeed.” Looker nodded as the three crooks were taken into custody. “But we have very little information to go on at this time. Hopefully we can get more from these three.”  
The police began to disperse and the trainers brought the safe back inside to separate out Pokémon. “That was really scary…” Tashi murmured, sticking with Hayley, who was showering praise onto her Sylveon.   
“I know… we’re lucky that Furfrou was here or we’d be up a creek…” Hayley agreed solemnly.  
“Speaking of…” Tashi looked around, spotting the poodle Pokémon still sitting off to the side of the alley, watching the police cars go.  
“Hey…” The Pokémon looked at her. “That was really brave of you.” Tashi smiled. “Thank you so much for saving our Pokémon~.”  
Furfrou barked happily.   
“Um… would you… like to be my Pokémon?” Tashi asked tentatively, having never done this by herself before.  
Furfrou stood up and barked happily, its tail wagging. “Okay!” Tashi grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes!”  
Hayley, overhearing the exchange, clapped rapidly and dug a luxury ball out of her purse. “Always prepared!”  
Tashi laughed and took the ball. “Alright, welcome to the family Fifi!”   
She tapped it on the top of the poodle’s head and watched as it was captured safely.  
“Yay!!” Hayley cheered, giving her bestie a hug. “Come on! Let’s go get the rest of our Pokémon back and then we have more party to go through! And I still have to introduce you to Roark~”  
Tashi’s eyes sparkled.  
The gala went on without any more problems. Pokémon were returned to their proper owners and dinner and dancing commenced. As Tashi had a dance with Roark, Hayley contently hung out by the dessert table, nibbling on some delicious, flakey pastry thing.  
“That was some quick thinking you did before.”  
Hayley looked to see who was talking and nearly dropped the remains of her pastry. “Lance! Th-thanks!”  
Lance laughed. “Sorry I startled you! I wanted to talk to you all evening. Congrats on joining the Pokémon Leauge.”  
Hayley smiled, calming down. “Thanks. Again.”  
The dragon tamer then held out his hand. “Care to dance?”  
Hayley felt her face turn white. She had never danced with a person before. But Lance seemed like a nice, patient guy. “O-okay!” she squeaked and took his hand.  
Once they were on the dance floor, it turned out Lance had put more stock in Pokémon than in dancing. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to dance.” He said, looking at his feet again.  
“Welcome to the club, we should have T-shirts.” Hayley grinned. “Don’t worry. I’m having a good time. And you haven’t stepped on my toes yet!”  
Lance smiled, seeming relieved. “Thank you. I’m doing my best!”  
“Aren’t we all.” Hayley replied, glancing at Tashi who was still dancing with Roark.  
Tashi caught her gaze and gave her a thumbs-up. Hayley winked in return.  
The two had fun at the gala, talking and laughing and Hayley even participated in a few battles with Tashi cheering madly from the sidelines. As the night drew to a close, some phone numbers were exchanged for chatting and battling (“and maybe more~” Tashi had teased) and everyone headed to their hotels or home.  
Once Hayley and Tashi made it inside their house, shoes in hand, they both trudged to their rooms and got ready for bed. The two fell asleep almost instantly, exhausted, but light-hearted from the exciting night.


	16. Gen 7: Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley begins a new Pokemon adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then I got Pokemon Moon

“The Alola region?”  
Professor Sycamore nodded. “I was recently in contact with Professor Kukui of that region. He said he was looking for strong trainers, and you sprang to mind!”  
Hayley didn’t quite know what to say, so she began working it out verbally. “Well, I want to go, of COURSE. But…”  
“Your Gym and your ranch?” Sycamore supplied.  
She nodded. “And Tashi. I asked her to move to this whole new world… I’d feel bad just leaving her here.”  
“Well, the invitation is still open.” Sycamore assured her. “Take your time and think it over.”  
Hayley nodded. “Thanks Professor. I’ll call you when I figure it out.”  
The two logged off and Hayley looked at the website Sycamore had sent to her.  
The Alola Region… It looked like a tropical paradise. It had volcanoes and mountains and lots of beaches. It was made of four islands as well as a man-made one for research. But what had her the most excited was the promise of new Pokémon. If there was one thing Hayley loved, it was Pokémon she had never seen before.  
But she had her Gym now, and she’d been pretty successful at it, and her Ranch was doing well… Though she imagined a trip to Alola would bring a great chance to bring new Pokémon into the ranch and her gym team!   
…But Tashi… She’d break the news over dinner.

“The Alola Region?” Tashi asked.  
Hayley nodded. “It’s a ways away from here, and it looks so nice and I REALLY wanna go, but I…” She sighed as she chose her next words. “I don’t want to just abandon you.”  
“You wouldn’t be abandoning me.” Tashi assured her. “Boo, I wanted to move here. And I really love it! You’ve helped me make so many new friends!” She looked over at Buzzy and Snuffles, who were happily eating their own dinner. “I think it would be a great idea! And maybe once you’re settled in, I can come up!”  
Hayley brightened at the idea. “Hey yeah! I can do their Island Challenge thing and once I’m done, you can come up and we can have a tropical vacation!”  
“So it’s a plan?” Tashi grinned.  
“I’ll call up the professor after dinner!”

It didn’t take long to put the plans into place. Hayley would leave in three months, during which time she would train a Zoroark to imitate her and take over her gym. She’d also be starting from scratch once she reached the Alola region, so she had to set up her Pokémon storage. 

The day came swiftly, with Tashi and Hayley at the train station in Lumiose city. “Nervous?” Tashi asked, Blaze, Delphox and Hayley’s Vulpix there to see her off with her.  
Hayley shook her head. “Never. I’ll miss you guys, but I know I’m going to have a great adventure!”  
Tashi hugged her bestie tightly. “I’ll miss you too Boo. Be sure to video chat, and send lots of pictures!”   
“I will~” Hayley kissed the top of her head. “I’ll text you when I get there!”  
“Last call for train 7 to Eon Air!” The loudspeaker buzzed.  
The two hugged once more. Hayley patted her Pokémon and gave them all hugs. “You guys do your best at the Gym, okay? And behave for Tashi!”  
They all nodded, Delphox wiping a tear away. Hayley smiled and waved, stepping onto the train. As she took her seat, she saw her family waving. She waved back until the train began to move and they were out of sight.

It was a bit of a haul. A train and two plane rides. Hayley was relieved she had only packed a carryon for her stuff, lest her luggage get lost. She had brought plenty of money so she could buy new clothes or anything else she needed while she was there. The intercom on the plane pinged “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our decent into the Alola region. The local time is 8:55 pm and the local temperature is 85 degrees. We hope you enjoyed your flight and thank you for flying Eon Air.”  
Hayley let out a sigh. Finally she’d be able to stretch her legs! As the plane landed and people were allowed to get up, she reached for her belt to let her Vulpix out, but felt a slight sinking in her heart when she only grabbed air. It was a strange and sad feeling, not having a partner…  
Hayley had sprung for first class, so she got off the plane quickly and made he way into the airport, catching a whiff of flowers and the sea breeze as she stepped off the plane and inside. As Hayley made her way through the airport, she looked around at the décor. It looked a lot like any airport with various shops, but a lot of them boasted images of Pokémon she had never seen before, like a bird Pokémon with a long and colorful beak, or some purple and blue Pokémon with spikes that looked like it lived at the bottom of the ocean.  
“Hey there Cousin!” Hayley looked around to see who had spoken so loudly, only to see a man in a lab coat (though shirtless underneath) waving and holding a sign with her name on it.  
“Professor Kukui!” She smiled, hurrying over to the Professor. They had video chatted a few times before the trip.  
“Alola Hayley!” Kukui greeted her. “I hope your flight was alright.”  
“It was! Alola?” She asked as the two began walking.   
“That’s how we greet each other here!” Kukui explained, accompanying it with a hand gesture where he waved with both hands, making an arch with each. “Alola!”  
“Alola?” Hayley tried, copying his movements.  
“That’s it!”  
The two walked through the parking lot to a jeep. Hayley kept looking around, spotting some Pokémon she had never seen, as well as some familiar faces. “Slowpoke!” She gasped upon seeing the Pokémon.  
“That’s right! Sycamore mentioned this wouldn’t be your first rodeo!” Kukui chuckled as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “He said you were a gym leader?”  
Hayley nodded. “Fire-type specialist!”  
Kukui laughed. “Then I think I know just the partner for you!”  
“Who?” Hayley gasped, eyes sparkling.  
“It’s a surprise!” Kukui replied.  
Hayley grumbled for a moment, but bounced back as they drove down the road. Professor Kukui talked about the Island Challenge and how it was a little different than a typical Pokémon league challenge. “I’m pretty sure someone with your skills will have no trouble at all, right?”  
“I’m pretty sure I can take whatever this challenge throws at me.” She replied, casually.  
“I look forward to it! Here we are!” They had arrived at a small village, in the center of which was some sort of stage. “Admittedly, the house you’re renting is just a little south of here, but I saw you reaching for your belt.” Hayley paused as she did it yet again. “I figured we’d need to get you a Pokémon, STAT.”  
Hayley let out a soft laugh through her nose. “Thanks professor.”  
The two climbed out of the jeep. Hayley made it towards the stage as the professor went to talk to an important-looking man in a yellow robe. Hayley took a deep breath of the fresh night air and looked around. She spotted a dog-like Pokémon and a couple bird-like Pokémon sitting on a roof of one of the houses. She couldn’t wait to catch one and see it grow!  
“Ko-kooo!!”  
Hayley paused and looked towards the forest. What was that?  
“It seems Tapu koko has noticed your arrival!” Hayley turned back to see the man in the robe approach her, Kukui a step behind him. “You must be a very strong trainer for the Tapu to have noticed!”  
“Tapu?”  
“The guardians of the islands!” The man explained. “But we can talk about that later! I’m sure you’re exhausted, but Kukui insists I give you a Pokémon! He tells me you’re quite anxious.”  
Hayley nodded sheepishly. “It feels weird, not having a partner.”  
The man laughed heartily. “I understand what you mean. But no fear! Old Hala has a few choices for you!”  
The man-Hala, Hayley assumed- tossed three pokeballs out onto the stage in front of her.  
“The Grass Owl Pokémon, Rowlet!” Rowlet hooted.  
“The Fire kitten Pokémon, Litten!” Litten licked its paw.  
“And the water seal Pokémon, Poplio!” Poplio barked and clapped.  
“So! Who will you-“   
“Litten.” Hayley said, beaming. “I want Litten to be my partner.”  
Litten looked up, surprised. “Right! Kukui mentioned you were a fire-type specialist!” Hala nodded.  
Hayley crouched down in front of the new Pokémon. “Litten? Do you want to be my friend?”  
Litten looked at Rowlet and Poplio, a little unsure, but both Pokémon cooed and squeaked their encouragements. “Lit!” The kitten mewed and trotted up to Hayley.  
Hayley beamed and took the Pokémon into her arms. “I’m so happy to meet you!” She said, her voice cracking slightly as tears welled in her eyes.  
“I just know the two of you will go far!” Hala beamed.  
“But you can’t go too far on jet lag!” Kukui added. “I’ll drive you two to the house you’re renting. We’ll talk more tomorrow, yeah?”  
Hayley nodded, scratching Litten behind the ears and cuddling it.  
The house was indeed pretty close. Professor Kukui dropped Hayley and Litten off, explaining that the place was furnished and that he had put some food in the fridge. “Stop by my lab tomorrow, I’ve got some things for you!”  
“You got it!” Hayley assured him. “Good night professor!”  
Kukui waved and drove off, leaving Hayley and Litten, who she had not stopped cuddling. The two went inside, and Hayley finally put the kitten down. Litten promptly found a little Pokémon bed and fell asleep in it. Hayley quickly found the human bed and followed suit. Day one in the Alola region complete.   
A brand-new Pokémon journey was about to unfold!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I like that ending line?


	17. New Challengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After completing the island challenge and becoming the champion, Hayley faces a strong trainer and a new challenge. Featuring a cameo of Shadowpiratemonkey7 on tumblr

Hayley looked out on the ocean of Hau’oli beachfront. It had been several months since she had come to Alola. She had completed her island challenge and become the champion, the first Alola had ever had! She had made sure to talk to Tashi plenty too. Tashi had told her that the Gym and Ranch were doing just fine, but Hayley knew they’d have to see each other again soon, but she had a feeling she wasn’t done with Alola yet.  
As she continued to walk, she noticed a large mass a little ways down the beach. Was it…? No, it couldn’t be… Could it? She picked up the pace, jogging a little bit until she could see that without a shadow of a doubt, the mass was a Snorlax. A Snorlax asleep on the beach. She supposed it made sense, Munchlax lived just outside the city, why not Snorlax?   
Hayley heard an exasperated sigh next to her. She looked and saw it came from a policeman. “Snorlax don’t usually come down here to nap…” he muttered. “We have no way of waking this thing up!”  
Hayley wanted very much to offer to help, but without a pokeflute, waking a wild Snorlax was impossible!  
“Mmmhuuuhh?”  
Or maybe it wasn’t wild.  
A girl slowly sat up on Snorlax’s belly. She had sunk in enough that she couldn’t be seen from ground level. “I’m up.” She grumbled, fixing her hair. “I’m up. Sorry buddy, naptime’s done.” She recalled the Pokémon… and promptly fell onto the sand, as she had forgotten to get OFF the Snorlax first. “OOF!... Well… THAT happened.”  
The policeman helped her up. “Miss, I’m going to have to ask that you don’t snooze on your Snorlax in public spaces. You were blocking a stairway.” He motioned over his shoulder.  
“Oh, sorry sir. Won’t happen again!” The girl said, politely.  
The officer nodded and adjusted his hat. “Thank you. Stay out of trouble now!” With that, he walked off.  
The girl let out a small sigh of relief, then turned to see Hayley, looking her over. “Hi?”  
“Oh, sorry.” Hayley said quickly, her face turning red. “I just didn’t know you were up there.”  
The girl waved her hand in a “no problem” kind of way. “It’s fine. I’m more used to the Kanto region. Lots of open space for me and Snorlax to sleep in.”  
Hayley nodded. “I feel you. I’m from Kanto too!”  
“Cool!” The girl smiled. “I’m Bailey. You?”  
“Hayley!” She responded with a laugh.   
“Rhyming buddies!” Bailey announced. “What brings you to Alola?”  
“Well, I live in Kalos, but the professor there told me about this place and the new Pokémon and the island challenge so I took it aaaand now I’m the champion!”  
“…Well then that settles it!” Bailey shrugged.  
“Wassat?”  
“We’ve gotta have a Pokémon battle!”  
Hayley lit up. What better way to get to know someone than a Pokémon battle? “Okay! I’ve gotta warn you, I’m pretty strong!”  
“Me too!” Bailey grinned. “Let’s go!”  
The trainers took their positions, a nearby lifeguard taking position as ref. “Standard rules apply!” She called. “The first one to lose all of their Pokémon loses! Begin!”  
“Incineroar, let’s go!”  
“Come on out Snorlax!”  
Both Pokémon exploded out of their balls with a cry. Hayley felt a swell of pride. Her precious Litten had grown into a fierce and powerful Incineroar. They had been through a lot together, now it was time for another victory. “Incineroar, cross chop!”  
“Snorlax, body slam!” Bailey countered.  
Snorlax, however, was too slow when compared to Incineroar and was hit hard, fainting from one strong hit.  
“Snorlax is out!” The ref declared.  
“Okay… okay…” Bailey took a breath as she recalled her Pokémon. “Now I’m serious! Amber, your turn!” A Rapidash appeared out of her next ball with a whinny.   
“Alrighty!” Hayley licked her lips a little. “Incineroar, come on back! Let’s try... Greninja!”  
Greninja appeared with a backflip and posed upon landing. “…Cool.” Bailey whispered at the sight of the Pokémon. “But we won’t go down that easily! Amber, use stomp!”  
Rapidash whinnied and charged at Hayley’s Pokémon. “Greninja, dodge!”   
Sure enough, the frog ninja leapt high into the air, well out of the way of the Rapidash. “Water shuriken!” With amazing speed and skill, Greninja formed the water weapons and fired two at Rapidash, one missing, but the other being a direct hit.  
“Amber! Use bounce!” Bailey cried. Rapidash wasted no time in leaping into the air to meet Greninja head on. “Horn attack!”  
“Hydro pump!”  
“Gren!” Greninja spun just out of Rapidash’s reach and blasted a cannon of water at it, knocking it back into the ground, and out of consciousness.  
Once Greninja landed, Hayley cheered and reached out to give her Pokémon a high five, which is did reluctantly, trying to remain cool.  
Bailey made a face like she bit into a sour malasada as she recalled her fainted Pokémon. “I’m not done yet!”  
Hayley smiled. “Good. What else ya’ got?”  
Bailey and Hayley duked it out on the beaches of Alola with Bailey sending out a Plusle and Minun, only to be taken out by Hayley’s Ninetales and Mimikyuu. After that was a Vaporeon that Hayley took out with her new Raichu.  
Bailey was looking less and less pleased. She was doing her best, but Hayley kept taking her out, and she hadn’t even knocked out a single one of her Pokémon! Though… she did have one more. She held her last pokeball tightly in her hand. “It’s all up to you now… GO BLASTOISE!!”   
Blastoise erupted out of its ball with a roar that shook the beach. Many of the surrounding trainers cheered at the sight of the rare water Pokémon.  
“Blastoise!” Hayley gasped in excitement. “I have a Blastoise back home! He was my first pokemon!”   
“Me too!” Bailey brightened. “This guy was my first Pokémon! We’ve been through everything together!” Hayley’s mind briefly flashed to Blaze back home in Kalos. “We’ve won lots of battles, and we’re not gonna lose this one! Use ice beam!”   
“BLAST!” Blastoise reared its head back and fired the beam from it’s mouth, right at Raichu.  
Hayley quickly snapped back to reality. “Ah!! Raichu! Use-!” But it was too late, the surfing Pokémon was frozen solid. It was Hayley’s newest Pokémon too, so it wasn’t as strong as it could be. “Oh no… c’mon buddy, you can do this!”  
Bailey used this moment to command another attack. “Ice beam again!”  
Blastoise happily obliged, firing off another beam that knocked Raichu out.  
“No problem…” Hayley muttered, recalling her Raichu. “I’ve still got five other Pokémon!”  
However, Blastoise proved stronger than Hayley anticipated, taking out Incineroar easily, then Ninetales, Greninja, Mimikyuu… Hayley grew worried.   
“Each trainer has one Pokémon remaining!” The ref reminded the crowd, which had grown quite a bit.  
Hayley blinked. Oh right! She still had THAT Pokémon! And it was fast enough to avoid Blastoise’s ice beam. “Okay… Let’s try… Tsareena!” Hayley called forth her final Pokémon.  
Tsareena appeared in an explosion of light, tossing her hair-like petals over her shoulder. “Tsaa” She crooned.  
Bailey blinked. “What the flying Fenniken is that?” She asked, pointing.  
This was clearly the wrong thing to say in front of Tsareena. “It’s…” Hayley said meekly, slightly saddened by her comment, only to be cut off by Tsareena charging Blastoise and slapping it twice with it’s hair, sending it flying back a distance.   
“Tsareena!” The Pokémon announced sharply, casting Bailey a glare.  
“It’s a very prideful Pokémon.” Hayley added.  
“Noted…” Bailey said, a little shaken. “Blastoise! Are you okay?” Blastoise stood back up. It’s defense high enough that the doubleslap didn’t do much. “Stoise!”  
“Okay, good. Use bubblebeam!”  
It let a rapid stream of bubbles lose from the cannons on it’s back. “Tsareena! Dodge!” Hayley instructed.  
Tsareena did so, gracefully backflipping out of the way.  
“Okay, now it’s just showing off.” Bailey pointed out.  
“What did you expect? She’s a queen.” Hayley shrugged. “A queen known for her amazing legs~ Tsareena! Trop kick!”  
The floral queen leapt into the air, her legs glowing green, ready to reign down some judgment.   
“Blastoise! Rapid spin!”  
Blastoise quickly withdrew into it’s shell and began to spin, but Tsareena was much faster. She came down on Blastoise with a drop kick that caused an explosion of sand in the surrounding area. Just before the sand cleared, Tsareena backflipped out of the way and struck a pose. “Tsa~!” She chirped.  
As she dust settled, Blastoise came into view. “Blastoise is unable to battle!” The ref announced. “Hayley is the winner!”  
Hayley cheered and punched the sky. “Alright!!” She hurried over to Tsareena and hugged her. “You were amazing Tsareena!”   
Tsarina waved a hand in an “Oh, it was nothing~” kind of way. Hayley glanced over at Bailey, who was helping her Blastoise up. Hayley gave Tsareena a poke’bean and hurried over to help.  
“Hey.” She said, holding out a small, yellow, diamond-shaped object.  
“A revive?” Bailey asked, recalling Blastoise into its ball to get some rest.  
Hayley nodded. “That was a fun battle. I’d hate for you to have to go around without your best Pokémon.”  
Bailey half-smiled and took the revive. “Thanks. Sorry about what I said about Tsareena. I haven’t seen a lot of the Pokémon here yet.” She looked at the floral Pokémon who had joined them. “She’s pretty cute.”  
Tsareena considered this for a moment, then nodded once, allowing the compliment.  
Hayley chuckled and patted her head. “Hey Bailey, I hope we can battle again someday!”   
Bailey grinned. “I’m not gonna lose to you again, you know!”  
“We’ll see about that~” Hayley teased in return.  
The two waved goodbye as Bailey headed off to the Pokémon center and Hayley headed back to her rented house.  
She was no more than a few feet from the border of the city when her pokedex buzzed. The rotom that possessed it blinked awake and flew in front of Hayley. “You’ve got a call from the professor!” It buzzed.  
“Oh?” The screen lit up with an image of the professor. “Alola Cousin!”  
“Alola professor! What’s up?”  
“I was wondering if you could come by my lab! There’s someone here who’d like to see you!”  
“Sure! I’m just a few minutes away, I’ll be there in a moment!”  
They said their goodbyes and hung up, Hayley picking up the pace to see who wanted to see her. It didn’t take long for her to get to the ramshackle lab, but before she could even climb the steps, she spotted something in the sand. It looked like a little blue Pokémon covered in sand.  
Curiosity got the best of her, so she went over to check it out.  
It turned out to be a little Phanpy, snoozing away under the sand. Hayley found this quite odd, as Phanpy weren’t native to the Alola region that she knew of… “Ruff!”  
Now there was a Rufflet on the beach! Rufflet did live on the island, but not this close to the beach! Plus, it was carrying a sand bucket in its beak. Apparently, it had been burying the Phanpy. “Hey there~” Hayley said softly, as to not startle them. They had to have a trainer nearby.  
Ruffle turned to look at her, the squawked quite loudly, turning to wake up the Phanpy by shaking it with its wings. The Phanpy woke up and turned to see what Rufflet was so worked up over, only for it to trumpet in surprise, then happiness. It stood out of the sand and began to bounce around with Rufflet.  
“What’s all the ruckus?”  
Hayley’s eyes grew wide and she turned in the direction the familiar voice came from.  
Standing on the beach, fishing pole in hand, was none other than Tashi, who promptly dropped the fishing pole and charged for her bestie. “BOO!!”  
Hayley lit up. “SWEETIE!!!” She caught Tashi in a big hug. “You’re here!”  
“I am!! I’m sorry, I didn’t wanna wait any more to see you and visit so I got in contact with the professors and they told me where you were staying and I took a little money I’MSORRY and then I came here!!!”  
Hayley never stopped hugging her. “That’s okay! I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier!”  
“Oh! I have something for you!” Tashi suddenly snapped up, breaking the hug to dig around in a side purse she was wearing. “It’s not wrapped… but it’s freshly caught!” She held out a pokeball. “For you, Boo!”  
Hayley’s mouth hung open for a moment. “You caught a Pokémon?”  
Tashi nodded rapidly, clearly excited. “Open it!”  
“Y’know, I think I will~” Hayley teased, popping the ball open.  
Before her appeared a Luvdisk. She knew she’d treasure this Pokémon from her bestie forever. “She’s beautiful!” Hayley praised Tashi. “Did you know Luvdisk used to be given as gifts to express love?”  
“…Yeah… I know…”  
Hayley’s eyebrows knit and she turned to look at Tashi, who was blushing and fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.   
Hayley could practically hear the puzzle pieces falling into place. Luckily, Tashi beat her to the punch. “I THINK WE SHOULD DATE!” She squeaked out, rather loudly. “I mean, Why not? Right? I love you so much and you love me so much and I think it’ll be fun and nice!” She looked like she would melt.  
Hayley didn’t even have to think. She just scooped her Sweetie into her arms and hugged her tight. “I think that’s the best idea you’ve had since deciding to come to Alola!”   
Tashi sniffled and grinned, happy tears in her eyes.  
This was a whole different kind of adventure!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST TO CLARIFY!!! The dating idea was irl Tashi's idea, she considers our pokemon world selves different to our real world selves, so I am not shipping myself with my bestie in a weird way.  
> ...I REEEEEEALLY don't like writing pokemon battles...

**Author's Note:**

> Why do these things look so much shorter than they do in the word document? Thank you for reading the first chapter! I hope you like the rest!


End file.
